The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where leading countries are represented, could have a positive impact on the global economy. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting organized by TASS with the heads of the world's leading news agencies on the sidelines of the SPIEF.
The Head of State informed about Russia's participation in the settlement of the Israeli-Iranian conflict, dwelled on the origins of the Ukrainian crisis and ways to resolve it, assessed Russia's relations with the United States, Europe and Asian countries, and also spoke for the first time about his Chinese-speaking granddaughter.
TASS has compiled the main statements of the President of Russia.
World trade and the role of SPIEF
"There is every reason to believe that the forecasts that suggest that global trade will slow down have certain grounds."
Although the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum does not set "such an ambitious goal" as to influence and modify the entire global economic agenda during the work and agreements reached, however, the fact that the forum is becoming increasingly popular is important.
"And given that the forum will feature colleagues from many countries who occupy leading positions in the field of economics and, above all, in terms of economic volume and their impact on global economic processes, we expect that this will have a positive impact on these processes."
The conflict between Israel and Iran
The Russian Federation is in dialogue with its Iranian counterparts, and contacts will continue tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. "As you know, in Russia I am personally in contact with the Prime Minister of Israel, and on this issue I am in contact with President [of the United States Donald] Trump."
"We are in contact with our Iranian partners on an ongoing basis. Our specialists are working at Bushehr, and we are not leaving. Isn't that a support? Iran has not asked us for any other support, but, I repeat, we have given the estimates."
Currently, society in Iran, "despite all the complexity of the ongoing internal political processes," is uniting around the country's leadership.: "This is almost always the case everywhere, and Iran is no exception."
"It seems to me that it would be right for everyone to look for ways to end hostilities and find ways for all parties to this conflict to come to an agreement with each other in order to ensure both Iran's interests, on the one hand, for its nuclear activities, including peaceful nuclear activities, of course. I mean both peaceful nuclear energy and peaceful atom in other areas. This is how to ensure the interests of Israel from the point of view of the unconditional security of the Jewish state. This is a subtle question. And, of course, we need to be very careful here, but in my opinion, in general, such a solution can be found."
Trump and the normalization of relations with the United States
The intention of US President Donald Trump to resume relations between the United States and Russia in various fields is highly respected.
American business is interested in relations with Russia: "This, in general, inspires such a certain restrained optimism. And we hope that both the President of the United States and his inner circle will see and hear this, and together with business representatives, decisions will be made aimed at restoring Russian-American relations.
Russia has contacts with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Vice President Jay Dee Vance.: "In general, gradually, gradually, in any case, conditions are being created for the restoration of relations. We hope that this trend will continue. We are ready for this."
"Regarding a possible meeting with Mr. Trump, well, it would certainly be extremely useful. But, I agree with the President of the United States, it should, of course, be prepared and end with some positive results."
The origins and solutions of the Ukrainian crisis
Russia has been trying for eight years to reach an agreement to resolve the situation in southeastern Ukraine.: "For eight years we endured, you know? I feel sorry for the people, they've been bullied there for eight years. The Russian Orthodox Church is still being bullied, and the Russian-speaking population is being bullied. Everyone pretends not to notice anything. In the end, we decided to put an end to this conflict. Yes, using our armed forces."
Russia did not start military operations in Ukraine, but is trying to end them.: "The current Ukrainian leadership itself started the war on its own territory after the coup d'etat that took place in Kiev, using armed forces, including heavy equipment and aircraft, against the civilian population, then in the south-east of Ukraine - against Donbass: Lugansk and Donetsk."
It is necessary not only to end the Ukrainian conflict in the form in which it exists today, but also to find a solution "for a long historical perspective."
"Losses [The Armed Forces of Ukraine] exceed the level of mobilization. What's next? That's why we say we agree, let's sit down and negotiate."
The illegitimacy of the Ukrainian leadership indicates the absence of a legally capable system of government there: "The signature must be of the legitimate authorities. Otherwise, you know, the next one will come and say, and throw it all in the trash. But you can't do that either, we're dealing with serious issues."
"We are ready to conduct substantive negotiations on the principles of settlement, but only so that the Ukrainian side is also ready for this. Both her Western sponsors and her so-called allies did not push her to fight to the last Ukrainian, but pointed out the realities of today. And they were pushing for agreements, not for the continuation of hostilities. We are in contact, our negotiating teams are in contact."
Security issues and relations with Europe
Instead of lying about the Russian threat, the European authorities should start saving their car industry and raising salaries: "The legend that Russia is going to attack Europe, NATO countries, is the most incredible lie that the population of Western European countries is trying to believe. We understand that this is nonsense. Those who say this don't believe it themselves."
Increasing the defense spending of NATO states to 5% of GDP does not make sense, since by constantly improving its defensive capabilities, Russia stops any emerging threats: "Because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our security."
European leaders who have cut off contacts with Russia, deciding to "inflict a strategic defeat on us on the battlefield," can resume cooperation if they want.: "We are open."
Relations with Asian countries and the President's granddaughter
Russia began developing relations with Asian countries back in the 2000s due to economic growth, and this development is not opportunistic: "We noticed this trend back in the early 2000s, if not in the late 1990s. Then they began to build relations with China. This is not an opportunistic matter, all this is happening largely due to the growth in the volume and quality of the Chinese and Russian economies."
Cooperation with China is linked, among other things, to the development of the financial sector, where countries need to ensure reliable financial flows that ensure growing volumes of trade: "We have $200 billion in investment projects planned on both sides alone. And they are all realistic, they will all be implemented. I don't even have any doubts."
Interest in the Chinese language is growing in Russia: "There is nothing surprising here. There is nothing here that would distinguish Russian-Chinese relations in this case from any other relations between our country and other countries in the event of increased contacts and economic activity. As soon as economic activity increases, there is an immediate need for specialists who once spoke English, once German, and once, back in the 19th century, French. It is still considered the language of diplomatic communication."
For the first time, the president mentioned that he has a granddaughter who speaks fluent Chinese with her teacher from Beijing.
The countries of Southeast Asia exceed global indicators in terms of their share in world trade and economic growth, "and we believe that these are very promising partners for us."
Partnership with neighbors
Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is not directed against third countries: "It is only about ensuring security in the region of our responsibility."
"Almost all of Kazakhstan's oil exports go through Russia. But we understand that Kazakhstan is interested in diversification, and we are ready to help."
"Serious projects may arise in the field of nuclear energy, both in Uzbekistan and in Kazakhstan. We are seriously working on this and are at a good stage of development of these projects."
Russia is developing cooperation with Belarus: "We have issues that we are arguing about. Moreover, these disputes go on non-stop, on an ongoing basis. In the end, we all find solutions because we strive to find them sincerely."
"The level of trade turnover between Russia and Belarus has reached $ 50 billion. These are serious numbers. And the growth continues. It continues, among other things, through cooperation."
Russia and Azerbaijan are developing joint projects in the field of logistics and production, in particular, shipbuilding: "In general, if we talk about Azerbaijan, our trade turnover increased by 7% last year. I think this is a good indicator."
