the president answered questions from journalists about arms control, relations with foreign leaders, and shared his views on other international processes
Russian President Vladimir Putin held another big press conference. we have selected the most significant statements from the speech of the russian leader concerning international relations.
about biden and trump
Putin hopes that US President-elect Joe Biden, with his experience, will understand the problems in relations with Russia and will participate in their solution.
"He is an experienced person in both domestic and foreign policy - and we hope that all the problems that have arisen, at least some of them, will be solved under the new administration," the Russian president said at the annual press conference.
He also added that the current US President Donald Trump has a lot of support inside the country and, as far as Moscow understands, is not going to leave its political life.
"almost 50% of the population voted for him, if we count by the number of voters, and not by electors," the president of the russian federation reminded. "He has a fairly large support base inside the United States."
on relations with the west
Russia is "white and fluffy" compared to the West, the Russian president is sure. He recalled that the Russian Federation ranks only sixth in the world in terms of military spending, which means that it can not exactly be called an aggressive country.
"yes, it is true, we are white and fluffy, because we went to liberate from a certain soviet dictate those countries and peoples who wanted to develop independently. we have heard your assurances that nato will not develop to the east, but you have not fulfilled your promises, " putin reminded a bbc journalist.
The President also said that he feels responsible for what is happening to Russia and its people. "I will do everything in the interests of the Russian Federation," the head of state said.
putin also addressed western states with a quote from a soviet cartoon about leopold the cat, urging them to "live together".
On arms control
putin said that russia is ready to conduct a dialogue on agreements that will take into account the availability of new types of weapons, but the partners have not yet responded.
"now there is a threat of termination of the start treaty. then there will be no restrictions at all related to the arms race, there will be nothing at all," the president said.
as the russian leader recalled, moscow initially called on its partners to extend this agreement for at least a year and to negotiate on what to do next within a year.
"we understand that russia has developed types of weapons, modern hypersonic systems that no one else in the world has. We are aware of this. We are not against taking this circumstance into account, but so far no one is talking to us in any way on this subject, " Putin said.
The Head of State once again added that Russia is ready for a dialogue on START-3, and said that the arms race began with the US withdrawal from the Anti-Missile Defense Treaty.
About foreign leaders
putin said that he does not divide the leaders of other countries into good and bad, but works with them to achieve a better result for russia.
"there are no good and bad ones. there are national interests, " the president said, responding to a request to talk about the most difficult and most pleasant negotiator. - somewhere it is necessary to make some compromises, somewhere there is a need to insist on our position. Anything else is counterproductive."
The Head of State spoke about his relations with the leaders of Turkey and China.
"We often disagree on certain issues with President Erdogan. Maybe sometimes even opposing views. But this is a man who keeps his word, a man. He doesn't wag his tail," the Russian leader said.
at the same time, he pointed out the coincidence of interests between moscow and beijing in many areas. "Maybe this, or maybe the vibes on a personal level contributed to the fact that I have primarily business, but at the same time very trusting relations with the President of the People's Republic of China," the president said. "this, of course, helps us in our work."
About Russian hackers
russian hackers did not help elect donald trump and did not interfere in the internal affairs of the united states, putin said.
"why didn't russian hackers help trump get elected this time? he repeated the reporter's question. - i believe that this is not a question on your part, it is a provocation. Russian hackers did not help elect the current president of the United States and did not interfere in the internal affairs of this great power."
Putin added that such assumptions are speculation and a reason to spoil relations between Russia and the United States.
About the poisoning of Navalny
Putin believes that Navalny enjoys the support of the US special services, but this does not mean that he should be poisoned. The president called the latest investigations of the blogger the legalization of materials of the American special services.
"Look, we understand what it is. <...> It's legalization, it's not some sort of inquiry, is the legalization of American intelligence services," Putin said, adding that if Navalny wanted to poison, it "probably would have driven to the end."
According to the head of state, representatives of the State Department and the US special services are also the authors of stuffing about his life and his family, and their goal is revenge and an attempt to influence public opinion in Russia.
The President stressed that there is nothing surprising in the negative information about him. Putin also noted that he does not work in order to " look beautiful over the hill."
On charges of using chemical weapons
Putin said that if anyone has information that chemical weapons were used in the situation with Navalny's hospitalization, then Moscow would like to receive this information.
"We suggested that our specialists go to the site in Germany, Sweden, France and together with colleagues on the spot to deal with this problem. Or we ask you to come to us, bring the biological material and at least give us an official conclusion."
The President expressed bewilderment that, despite repeated requests from the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, Moscow does not even have an official conclusion.
"The German authorities handed over all the material to the OPCW, they also do not give us anything, referring to the fact that Germany forbade them to give any information. And Germany says-take all the information there. Can you explain why we are not given an official opinion about the use of this "Novice"?" the president asked.
On interference in the elections of the Russian Federation
Putin is sure that in the Russian elections of 2021 will try to interfere from the outside, but Russia is preparing for this.
"of course, they will try to interfere, they do it all the time. and not only in our elections, all over the world practically. This is our global policy - both bases around the world and interventions around the world. We know this, we are preparing for it," the President said.
On the prospects of Nord Stream 2"
According to Putin, "Nord Stream-2" is an absolutely profitable project for Germany, and to complete the project, it remains to complete about 165 km.
"This is beneficial for the economy in general and Germany in particular. Another option is to buy a more expensive primary energy source - American liquefied gas at a price 20% higher than our pipe gas. What this means is a decrease in the competitiveness of the German economy and an increase in prices for households, " the head of state said.
The President also expressed hope that the new US administration will respect the interests of Europe in the construction of this gas pipeline.
About Nagorno-Karabakh
According to Putin, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh broke out again not because of the intervention of external forces.
"The situation got out of control, this tension lasted for many years," the president said. he noted that from the point of view of international law, nagorno-karabakh is part of azerbaijan, but the president considers the main thing to be the preservation of people's lives.
in his opinion, the international mediators on karabakh should move from words to deeds and help the local population, not leaving it only to russia. Putin also did not rule out the possibility of increasing the number of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh, but only with the consent of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
about the dialogue with ukraine
according to putin, the prospects for the development of relations between russia and ukraine largely depend on the ukrainian authorities. At the same time, the president stressed: "I will not say - from Ukraine, but from the Ukrainian authorities."
The President added that Kiev has repeatedly stated that they are not going to implement the Minsk agreements, but this document already has the force of international law, and it will not be possible to revise it.
the head of state also promised to continue supporting donbass.
"We, Russia, both supported the Donbass, and will continue to support it. We will even increase our support for Donbass. This applies to the support of production, and the solution of social issues, and infrastructure issues, and so on, " the head of state said.
About the crisis in Belarus
Putin is confident that Belarusians should be given the opportunity to calmly resolve domestic political issues without outside interference.
"i have already spoken out on this issue many times. I believe that it is necessary to give the Belarusian people an opportunity to deal with their issues and solve them inside the country. and president [of belarus alexander] lukashenko has spoken out on this issue repeatedly. I agree with him that [this should be done] in a calm, rhythmic atmosphere, " the Russian president said at a large press conference on Thursday.
at the same time, putin noted that the belarusian opposition is supported by foreign forces, and nothing good ever comes of it.
About peacekeepers in Pridnestrovie
Russia is generally in favor of withdrawing its peacekeepers from Transnistria, but only when the situation in the region improves, the President said.
"As soon as a normal dialogue between Pridnestrovie and the rest of Moldova is established," Putin said.
According to him, Maia Sandu, who was elected president of Moldova, did not say anything new as a representative of a certain political force.
"We have long heard from representatives of various Western countries that we need to withdraw our peacekeeping contingent," the Russian leader said.
on the political climate in kyrgyzstan
Putin believes that in Kyrgyzstan they often get ahead of themselves, trying to build a life like other countries.
"There is always this leapfrog happening. There is constantly, in my opinion, [there is] running ahead in order to establish domestic political life according to the patterns of some Western countries, " he said.
At the same time, the Russian leader noted that "the level of political consciousness, the level of maturity of institutions" is not the same as, for example, in France.
About the feelings of believers
According to Putin, thoughtless insults to the feelings of believers should always receive a response, but not an aggressive one.
"Where the freedom of another person begins, your freedom ends. This is a postulate, a general principle, and those who act thoughtlessly, insulting the rights of believers, their feelings, they should always remember that this will have some kind of response," the head of state said.
Putin added that the project of multiculturalism in Europe has failed, and in Russia this format has developed by itself.
On friendship with the Arab world
Russia will continue to expand and deepen cooperation with the Arab and Islamic world, Putin said.
"Relations with the Arab world are traditional for Russia as a whole, for the Soviet Union, and for today's Russian Federation. We have very stable, long-standing ties that go back centuries, " the President said.
Speaking about the role of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov in the development of cooperation with the Arab world, Putin noted that Kadyrov " plays the same role in this as all other leaders of the regions of the Russian Federation."
"In general, foreign policy is led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, but the regions always make a very noticeable, significant contribution to the efforts of the Foreign Ministry of the country," the president said.
about the russian army
Putin called the Russian army one of the most effective in the world.
"With the state of the army in 1993, it was possible [to talk about the inviolability of the territory of the Russian Federation]? you can say anything you want. could we provide it? in every case, you will not use an atomic bomb, that's right. And our conventional armed forces have practically collapsed, " the President stressed.
As the head of state added, "Now even our opponents are already saying:" Yes, there are fewer of them, but they have become much more effective." One of the most effective armies in the world is in Russia today, " Putin said.
On the global fight against the pandemic
The Russian President said that there is no evidence that individual countries are spreading the coronavirus.
"As for the origin, there are a lot of rumors, I would not like to talk about it now for the whole country and the whole world, especially since we do not see any evidence related to those accusations against anyone," Putin said.
The Head of State urged to discuss not those responsible for the emergence of the virus, but to focus on helping people and countries to overcome the pandemic.