Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday answered questions during a press conference after a meeting of the State Council on youth policy in Moscow.
Below is the full text transcript of the press conference in English:
Vladimir Putin: Please [go ahead and ask questions]
Yulia Bubnova: Good afternoon!
TASS agency, Yulia Bubnova.
I would like to start with some summing up. It is obvious that the year was not the easiest and not the most ordinary, but what are its main results for you?
What have we achieved, what, perhaps, we have not been able to achieve, and how do you see our future, where are we heading and where should we come to?
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: There are never ideal situations. Ideal situations are only in plans, on paper, you always want something more. But in general, I think that Russia has passed this year quite confidently. We have no concerns that the current situation will prevent us from implementing our plans for the future, including for 2023.
I repeat once again: we believe, and I want to emphasize this, that everything that is happening, and everything related to the special military operation, is an absolutely forced and necessary measure. We should be grateful to our military, our soldiers, officers, our soldiers for what they are doing for Russia, protecting its interests, sovereignty and, above all, protecting our people. They act with dignity, achieve what the country needs.
As for the economy, as you know, despite the collapses, devastation and catastrophe predicted for us in the economic sphere, nothing of the kind is happening. Moreover, Russia demonstrates much better performance than in many G20 countries, and it demonstrates it confidently. This also applies to the main macroeconomic indicators, this also applies to the volume of GDP. Yes, there is a small drop. I spoke quite recently - 2.9 [percent], according to our and international experts. Now they give a different figure, even less – 2.5 [percent].
One of the main indicators worldwide is the unemployment rate. We have it below the pre-pandemic period: let me remind you, then it was 4.7 [percent] - now we have 3.8-3.9 percent unemployment. That is, the labor market is stable.
Public finances are stable, there are no alarming moments here either. All this is not the result of what "fell from the sky." This is the result of the work of the Government, regional teams, business and the mood in society, which demonstrates unity and the desire to work together to achieve common goals.
Therefore, in general, we feel confident, and I have no doubt that everything that we set ourselves as goals will be achieved.
Kirill Panyushkin: Good afternoon!
Konstantin Panyushkin, Channel One.
If you will, "in the footsteps" of the State Council. Still, how do you personally evaluate the results of the implementation of the youth policy this year, bearing in mind how worthily the Russian youth behaved after February 24?
Vladimir Putin: You know, we always talk about this – that is, not us, look at our classical literature: always “fathers and sons”, always the question that young people in any period of the country’s development – and, in my opinion, , all over the world the same thing is happening - young people are constantly accused of being superficial, unworthy of something that everything used to be better.
I, on the contrary, believe that young people are always better. Remember the hardest trials at all times in our history. Everyone said: no, that was then, but now they can’t. But what can't they do? All young people can. There are different people in all age groups. But in general, our young people demonstrate, firstly, the desire to move forward, demonstrate a high level of education, training, understanding of the ongoing processes in the world, in society, an understanding of where to go, what is a real value, what you need to rely on.
I mean our history, love for the Motherland, for the Fatherland. This is especially true in difficult times.
Remember our difficult events in the North Caucasus. They said, they said: here is the youth, the youth. Let's remember the Pskov paratroopers - here's an example of youth and the heroism of young people. And now let's see how young people fight, and how our youth react to what is happening in the special military operation zone, how they support our fighters.
Today I was in the Manezh - you know, it breaks to tears when the kids, there are teenagers, and people a little older collect things, write letters, and many volunteer - young people too.
Yes, there are different people. There are those who got into the car and quietly drove away, yes. But in general, Russian youth, I repeat once again, demonstrate, and we can confidently say this, a feeling of love for the Motherland, a desire to fight, fight for it and move forward personally and in terms of the development of the country.
Alexei Kolesnikov: Good evening!
Newspaper "Kommersant".
Vladimir Vladimirovich, there has not yet been your Address to the Federal Assembly this year, and apparently there will not be any more. In general, like many others, I wrote about this, including the fact that the topic of the Address has flared up in recent days in some formats, for example, at a meeting of the [Council for Strategic Development and] on national projects, yesterday, I think , also at the expanded board of the Ministry of Defense.
Tell me why this year is like this? And what is the further fate of your Message?
Vladimir Putin: In my opinion, we also did not have a Message in 2017, specifically in the calendar year. But it should be.
What is the question? The question is that the dynamics of events is very large, the situation is developing very dynamically, so it was very, not very, but difficult to fix the results and specific plans for the near future right at a particular moment in time. We will do this at the beginning of the year, of course.
But the very meaning of the Message lies precisely in what I just said. One way or another, this was reflected in my speeches, in which it was impossible not to talk about it. Therefore, to be honest, it was quite difficult for me and the Administration, without repeating, to cram it into a formal Message once again, that's all. That is, I have already spoken in one form or another about key things, then I don’t really want to collect it again and repeat myself.
In order for all this to look solid and fundamental, we need some time and additional analysis of what is happening and what we are talking about and planning for the near future.
We will do it. I will not name specific dates, but we will certainly do this in the new year.
K. Golovanova: Interfax, Ksenia Golovanova.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, I wanted to ask in connection with Zelensky’s visit to the United States and the agreement reached there on the supply of a Patriot battery to Ukraine: can we now talk about the full involvement of the United States in the conflict in Ukraine? What might be the consequences of this decision? For example, can Russia move its systems closer to the borders of NATO countries or in close proximity to the United States?
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: You just said: is it possible to talk about greater involvement of the United States in the conflict in Ukraine? Let me joke, I would suggest looking at this problem "wider and lumpier". What exactly and why?
Because the United States has been doing this for a long time: it has long been involved in the processes that took place in the Soviet and post-Soviet space. Even in Soviet times, entire institutions worked on Ukraine, they were perfectly aware of the history of this issue. There are specialists there who are professionally versed in this. I repeat, back in Soviet times, they prepared the ground, searched for people, determined meanings, and so on. I don’t feel like it now – this is not the format where one could delve into the history of the issue, but nevertheless it’s still clear where everything came from.
This is a very delicate question - the unity of the Russian world. Divide and conquer – this slogan has been in force since ancient times and is still actively used in real politics. Therefore, our potential adversary, our opponents have always dreamed about this and have always been engaged in this, they tried to divide us and then lead separate parts.
What's new here? The idea was born long ago on its own Ukrainian separatism, still within the framework of a single country. You see, I talk about this all the time, if someone considers that a separate ethnic group has formed, wants to live independently - for God's sake, you can't go against the will of the people in any case.
But if this is so, then this principle should be universal, and in no case should one go against the will of that part of the people who feel themselves in a different hypostasis, considering themselves part of the Russian people and the Russian world, consider that they are part of this culture, part of this language, part of this history and tradition. And you can't fight against them either.
And against them launched a war in 2014 - a war. After all, this was discussed. And what is it if air strikes were carried out directly in the center of million-plus cities? And what is it if troops with armored vehicles are deployed against them? This is war, fighting. We endured, endured, endured and hoped for some kind of peace agreement. Now it turns out that we were just led by the nose. So a country like the States has been doing this for a long time. For a long time.
In this sense, we can say that today's events, if they led us to this, in this sense, we can say that they have achieved their result. But we no longer had any other choice, except for those actions that were launched at the end of February of this year. Yes, this is the logic of the development of events, but our goal, first of all, is to protect people, I repeat once again, who feel they are part of our people, part of our culture.
We after all proceeded from what in due time? We proceeded from the fact that, okay, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, but - as I said yesterday at the collegium of the Ministry of Defense - our common historical roots, roots of culture, spiritual community, they will be stronger than what is pulling us apart, and such there have always been trends. What unites is stronger. No - with the help of outside forces and with the help of the fact that after the collapse of the Union, people with extremely nationalist views came to power.
And with the help of these forces, despite all our efforts, this disunity has increased and increased. As I once said: first we were pulled apart, divided, and then played off. In this sense, they have achieved results, of course, and in this sense we have suffered a well-known fiasco. They didn’t leave anything else [for us]: maybe they also deliberately pushed us to this, to this line. We had nowhere else to retreat, that's the problem.
Their involvement was always in full, they tried. I don’t remember anymore, then look through the pages of history, one of the deputies of the still tsarist State Duma said: if you want to lose Ukraine, attach Galicia to it. In the end, it happened, he turned out to be a visionary. Why? Because people from this part behave very aggressively and in fact suppress the silent majority in the rest of this territory.
But, I repeat once again, we proceeded from the premise that the fundamental foundations of our unity would be stronger than the trends that are pulling us apart. No, it turned out that it wasn't. They began to suppress Russian culture, and the Russian language, and to divide our spiritual community, and in completely barbaric ways. And they pretend that no one notices. And why? But because they are pursuing the very goal of which I said: divide and conquer.
Nobody wants the unification of the Russian people. Disunion - please, it will be a pleasure, they will shred further. But no one wants to unite and strengthen, except for us, and we will do it and we will do it.
Military-technical [consequences]. You know what’s the matter: I said yesterday that the frigate Admiral Gorshkov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union is entering combat service in early January, and new weapons systems are already appearing there.
We are not going to arrange any provocations, but still this is a factor in strengthening our actual strategic forces, although these systems are medium-range, but they have such high-speed characteristics that they give us certain advantages in this sense.
As for the Patriot, it's quite an old system. It does not work like, say, our S-300. Nevertheless, those who oppose us proceed from the fact that this is supposedly a defensive weapon. OK. We'll just keep it in mind, and there will always be an antidote. So those who do this are doing it in vain: it's just prolonging the conflict, that's all.
Kirill Kokoveshnikov: Good afternoon!
Zvezda TV channel, Konstantin Kokoveshnikov.
If I may, one more question about a special military operation. Traditionally, you are rather sparingly assessing the course of the operation, preferring not to go into details, but still: do you see the threat of the situation becoming a very protracted one?
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: You know, I have already said this. In fact, the situation began to take shape - it was less noticeable even in our country, while in the West they preferred not to talk about it at all and not notice it at all - but it all started in 2014 after the coup d'état provoked by the same States, when pies were distributed on the Maidan. I have already spoken about this many times.
But our goal is not to spin this flywheel of a military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war: we are striving for this and will continue to strive.
And about the fact that I say sparingly or little about this: well, this is natural. On the one hand, I may be sparingly talking about this, but briefings by the Ministry of Defense are held daily, and they report there to our public, to the country, about what is happening, where it is happening, how and so on.
Therefore, we will strive to ensure that this is completed and the sooner the better, of course. Well, as for what is happening and how, I have already said many times: the intensification of hostilities leads to unjustified losses - the chicken pecks grain by grain.
Alexei Petrov : Alexei Petrov, Rossiya TV channel.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, my question is a continuation of the topic, in fact.
Recently, the idea has been actively exaggerated in Western political circles, including at the NATO level, that the resources of the West, which are transferred to Ukraine as assistance, are not unlimited, they are, in fact, running out. At the same time, a number of Western experts believe that Russian resources are also running out, that the last missiles, the last ammunition are just about.
This is already familiar rhetoric, but nevertheless: the state of our military-industrial complex - is our defense industry today capable, on the one hand, of replenishing those reserves that are needed, on the other hand, of producing enough to continue the special military operation?
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: First, I think that the resources of Western countries and NATO countries are not on the verge of exhaustion. After all, the point is different - the point is that Ukraine receives weapons from the former Warsaw Pact countries, mainly of Soviet production. This is really close to exhaustion: there, we practically knocked everything out, burned it out. There, you can count several dozen units of armored vehicles, a hundred, something else - on this scale. They beat a lot, it's true. This technique is close to exhaustion.
But this does not mean that Western countries, NATO countries do not have other equipment. There is. After all, this is not the issue, but the issue is that it is not so easy to switch to new weapons systems, including those of the NATO type: you need to prepare, you need to train personnel, you need to have stocks of spare parts, you need to service and repair it. This is a big question, and it's not easy. First.
Second. There are questions related to the capabilities of the military-industrial complex of Western countries. Yes, it is big in the United States, it can be promoted, but even there it is not so easy, because you need to allocate additional money to this account, and this is a matter of allocating resources within the framework of the budget process. It's not that simple.
Now they say: Patriot can be put there. Well, let them put it - we will click on the Patriot. Then it will be necessary to put something instead of Patriot, it is necessary to develop new systems. This is a complex, lengthy process, everything is not so simple. We take this into account, we also consider everything that appears there, we consider where and how much is still in warehouses, what is left, what they can produce, in what time frame, how they can train personnel.
As for our capabilities and our reserves, they are too, but we are spending them, this is understandable. I will not give figures now, how many shells we spend per day, say. These are big numbers. But the difference between us and those who oppose us is that, say, the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, if not completely reset, is rapidly moving towards it. There will soon be no own base left, and in our country it is only growing. Moreover, as I said yesterday at the board meeting of the Ministry of Defense, we will not do this to the detriment of other sectors of the economy. It doesn't matter to us, one way or another, the Minister reported yesterday, we need to provide for the needs of our army.
In contrast to the Ukrainian industry, we have been developing our industry over the past decades, including the defense industry. We have developed our military science and technology. We are still missing something. We see loitering ammunition, drones, and so on, but we have groundwork. We know who and how much can do, when, in what terms. We have our own financial resources to ensure the work of scientific and technological centers and the production itself. We have it.
Yes, there is a question related to increasing the pace and volume. We are able to do it, and we will definitely do it.
A. Gereykhanova: Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Aysel Gereykhanova.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, in this situation, as far as possible, are there any real chances for a diplomatic resolution of the situation in Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin: All conflicts, all armed conflicts end one way or another with some kind of negotiations on the diplomatic track – and we have never refused. This leadership of Ukraine forbade itself to negotiate. This already looks somewhat unusual, even strange, I would say. Nevertheless, sooner or later, of course, any parties that are in a state of conflict sit down and agree. The sooner this awareness comes to those who oppose us, the better. We have never given up on this.
Vladimir Sanfirov : Valery Sanfirov, Vesti FM.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, you have often met with the military lately.
Vladimir Putin: Does this surprise you?
Vladimir Sanfirov: No.
Vladimir Putin: Every day, for you to understand, every day.
Vladimir Sanfirov: A question about heroes.
When you went to this State Council, you passed Kutuzovsky Prospekt, and nearby were the streets of General Dorokhov, Raevsky, Barclay de Tolly, Vasilisa Kozhina, in principle, the State Council itself was held in that hall, where, if I’m not mistaken, there are also 11,000 signs [ with names] of St. George's heroes.
Does a special military operation give birth to folk heroes and commanders, do they appear in our lives?
Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course, any armed conflict is associated, unfortunately, with losses, some tragedies, injuries, and so on. And, as a rule, you know, and those who die defending the interests of their Fatherland, their Motherland, their people, those who get injured are the strongest guys. They are ahead. That's the problem. And, of course, they are heroes. I have spoken about this many times. This is my personal deep conviction.
Imagine: you and I are now standing in this hall in the Kremlin Palace, we are warm, the sun is shining over us artificially, the lights are on, the interior is beautiful, and the guys are there in the snow, you understand?
We are talking about insoles in boots and so on, about weapons - and they come under fire and so on. Of course they are all heroes. This is a colossal work associated with a danger to health and life. Of course, heroes. There are those who show special deeds directly related to what is called heroism, personal heroism. Not just hard work, but personal heroism.
Of course, we are thinking about this and will definitely work to set them as an example for our entire society, as an example for the younger generation in the future. These are the people who strengthen the inner spirit of the nation. It is very important. And they, of course, are. A lot of them. You probably know them yourself, and we still don’t know some of them, we haven’t named them, but we will definitely do this.
Maria Glebova : RIA Novosti Agency, Maria Glebova.
If you'll excuse me, I would like to return to the economy.
You yourself said earlier that there was no collapse. But now they say that the main blow will come next year. Could you please tell us whether it will be possible to keep the Russian economy?
At the end of each year, you also traditionally meet with the captains of Russian business. But this time there was no meeting. Why? Do you see their role in the growth of private investment now?
And I would like to ask about the social issue. Will all social obligations that were promised be fulfilled without fail in the future?
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: As for the economy, I have already touched on this topic, but I can, of course, probably, and should add it.
First, the predicted collapse of the economy did not take place. Yes, we have a decline, I will repeat these figures once again. They promised somewhere, but they didn't promise, but someone hoped that we would have a decline, a reduction in the volume of GDP by 20 or more, 20-25 percent, some said. This decline in GDP "takes place", but not 20-25, but 2.5 percent. First.
Second. Inflation, as I have already said, this year we will have - also one of the most important indicators - a little more than 12 percent. This, I think, is much better than in many other countries, including the G20 countries. It is not good that there is inflation, but it is good that it is less than in other countries.
Next year – we have also already mentioned this – based on the results of the economy in the first quarter, at least we hope so, we will strive for the target indicators of four to five percent. And this is a very good trend, unlike some other G20 countries, where the trend, on the contrary, is upward.
Unemployment is at its historical low of 3.8 percent. We have a deficit budget, it’s true, but it will be around two percent this year, next year too, then it will be one percent, and in 2025 it will be less than one percent: we expect somewhere around 0.8 percent. I draw your attention to the fact that in other countries - both developing large states and countries with the so-called developed market economies - the deficit is much larger. In the United States, in my opinion, 5.7, in China - over seven percent. In all leading economies, the five percent deficit flies everywhere. We do not have.
This is a good, fundamental base in order to move confidently into 2023.
What is the priority for 2023? Infrastructure development is a must. Probably, it is not necessary to enumerate, there is a lot: both the Eastern training ground, and the North-South road, the development of infrastructure within the country - quite recently Marat Shakirzyanovich Khusnullin reported on the construction of roads in the country - and so on. Airports, ports - a lot of things.
Then we need to solve financial issues. At what plan? The financial system of the country is stable, banks work reliably, they do not allow any failures - by the way, thanks to both the Government and the bank employees themselves, they work hard, hard and competently, they are qualified people, they have almost everything - everything, not everything, but a lot is achieved . We must maintain macroeconomic stability. We will not allow money to be scattered left and right, but, as I said, we will strive for those main macroeconomic indicators that will be the basis for the stability of the economy as a whole.
I talked about infrastructure. The next important point is to maintain the stability of the financial system, the banking system, and the budget. And to do a very important thing - to replace inside the country those investments that our economic participants used to use - from some Western institutions, from funds, and so on. We need to replace this with internal funding. And of course, we can do this by using various tools, but I won't go into it now. If you asked a question in the field of economics, surely your readers know what it is about. They exist and need to be developed. This is not an easy task, a difficult question, but it can be done.
Of course, we must resolve the main issue - we need to raise the level of real wages of citizens. This is completely obvious. Taking into account inflationary processes, taking into account budget revenues, we are able to take a step in this direction. We have a whole range of actions that we need to take in the economic sphere. I have no doubt that they are all achievable. To what extent we will be able to implement these plans, how we will be able to approach the solution of the tasks in question, we will see based on the results of next year.
Maria Glebova: What about big business?
Vladimir Putin: Big business.
Do you understand what's the matter? The fact is that I always meet with colleagues with pleasure, but now COVID has begun to rise again, and another misfortune is this swine flu. The only question is this. That is, I can, just like with you, meet, but they need to be brought together. They can pose a certain danger to each other from an epidemiological point of view. It's just that. And so we are in constant contact with them and we will, of course, develop this dialogue.
They are having a hard time. There are different people out there, you know? We know this well, the country knows. Firstly, they put everyone under sanctions: Western, pro-Western or non-Pro-Western - all under the same brush. For what? In order to restore business against the state. But the people who live in this country must live in the interests of the country. The interests of the country lie in the fact that they work efficiently, regularly pay taxes, but it is not at all necessary for everyone to have a ship arrested abroad, or some castle on the Mediterranean Sea or in London.
You see, the point is this: if a person lives here and connects his life, the life of his children, his family with this country, this is one thing. And if a person does not connect his life with this country, but simply takes money out of here, and everything is there [abroad], then he values not the country in which he lives and where he earns, but values good relations where he has property and money in accounts. And such people are a danger to us.
But we are loyal to everyone. The main thing is to work effectively. But contacts, of course, continue and will continue.
And I want to note that, probably, not one hundred percent, not every person, but the vast majority of representatives, including big business, are patriots of our country, patriots of Russia. Each person is in his own, individual situation, but everyone strives not only to stay to live and work in Russia, but to work for the good of our country, preserving labor collectives, their enterprises, developing the economy, and so on.
N. Babaev: Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich!
Nahid Babaev, NTV.
I want to continue the economic theme. Does Russia have losses in connection with the introduction of a ceiling on oil prices? Maybe the oilmen have already asked the state for help, benefits?
And in connection with this, one more question. Much has been said about retaliatory measures, a decree is being prepared. Will the measures envisaged by this decree be able to protect our interests?
Vladimir Putin: You know, I think I will sign the decree somewhere on Monday or Tuesday. These are preventive measures, because there is no evidence of any individual damage for Russia, for the Russian economy, for the Russian fuel and energy complex. We approximately also sell at those prices which are exposed as a ceiling.
Yes, of course, the goal is clear to our geopolitical opponents and adversaries - to limit the revenues of the Russian budget, but we do not lose anything from this ceiling. There are no losses for the Russian fuel and energy complex and for the budget economy - there are no losses, because we sell at these prices.
But this is not the point at all, but the point is that they are trying to screw new instruments that are absolutely not inherent in a market economy into the world energy, into the world economy. The consumer-buyer is trying to introduce into the consciousness and practice of the whole world completely new tools that are not inherent in a market economy, non-market regulation.
Imagine: You wanted to come and buy, relatively speaking, a Mercedes or a Chevrolet. They came and said: I will buy for five rubles, and no more. Well, you buy one, two, three cars, and then Mercedes will close, because the production of Mercedes or Chevrolet will be unprofitable. The same thing is happening in the energy sector, everything is the same, one to one.
This industry is already underinvested. Here, and so there are problems related to the fact that in recent years, due to environmental issues and the transition to renewable energy sources, money has not been invested in new projects - in pipelines, in production, in development, and so on. Banks do not give money, insurance companies do not insure. The world's major companies have stopped investing in the volume that is needed for global energy.
And now they are also trying to establish a price ceiling administratively. This is the road towards the destruction of world energy. There may come a time when the underinvested industry stops producing the required volume of products on the market, and then prices will skyrocket and hurt those who are trying to implement these tools.
Therefore, producers of energy resources, in this case oil, take everything at their own expense - not at Russia's expense, but at their own expense, because everyone believes that this is only the first attempt to impose administrative rules on price regulation on producers.
Alexei Lazurenko : Alexei Lazurenko, Izvestia Information Center.
I would also like to continue the topic.
Days earlier, similar decisions were made on the gas price ceiling. Still, what will be our actions in this context, how much does it threaten us, and what is the fate of Nord Streams after all?
Vladimir Putin: This is from the same opera, as I understand it. Again, an attempt to administratively regulate prices will not lead to anything good in the gas sector, as well as in the oil sector.
In general, you know, sometimes our colleagues and partners surprise me with their unprofessional decisions. After all, at one time it was the European Commission that imposed on us the transition to the so-called market pricing, to exchange pricing for gas. And we persuaded them, I personally did it, persuaded them in Brussels not to do this, they said that this is not how the gas market works, this will lead to serious consequences, to a surge in prices. This is exactly what happened right now. Now they do not know how to get out of here, and they are trying to regulate gas prices as well.
You know, it's true that this is a slightly different regulation than the attempt to regulate oil prices. Here, the European Commission says more about the need to regulate the situation on the stock exchange. A link is made to LNG, it is said that prices should be correlated with LNG prices, and so on. But it is still an attempt to regulate prices administratively.
You know, they don't listen to us, they don't want to, they don't like us, they fight with us. But they should have heard themselves! In this case, I'm talking about those who are trying to regulate gas prices in Europe. But they obey the Americans in everything, constantly bowing and bending every time they are given a command. This is not a team - they would just listen to what American experts say. Friedman, a well-known economist, Nobel Prize winner, said a wonderful thing: if you want to have a shortage of tomatoes, impose a price limit on tomatoes, tomorrow you will have a shortage of tomatoes. They do the same here with gas and oil - the same thing, one to one. For some reason they don't listen.
Of course, we are closely following this, we observe and reserve the right, if this whole proposed system develops towards administrative regulation, and if this violates our contracts between Gazprom and its counterparties, there will be some kind of interference in these contracts, we reserve the right to consider whether we are then required to honor these contracts if the other party violates them.
"Northern Streams". So what about Nord Stream? This is a terrorist attack, it's obvious, everyone recognized it. But, surprisingly, this is an act of international, I would say, state terrorism. Why? Because individual persons, private persons, natural persons alone, without the support of state structures, are not able to carry out such acts of terrorism. It is clear that this was done with the support of states.
As they usually say in such cases: look who is interested. Who is interested in the line of Russian gas supply to the European market passing only through Ukraine, who is interested in Ukraine receiving money? The aggressor is Russia, but they receive money from us for transit, we pay them, despite the fact that they call us aggressors, although they themselves are aggressors in relation to Donbass. We counteract aggression, not the other way around. They take money and nothing. Money doesn't smell.
Who is interested in supplying Russian gas to Europe only through Ukraine? That's the one that blew up. Nobody investigates. We once had the opportunity to look at these places of explosions. All this was in the press, there is nothing to repeat, you already know for sure. But there is no full-fledged investigation, no one is conducting it. Surprising but true.
As for oil and gas, do you know what idea came to my mind right now in the course of our conversation and discussion? Somehow I have already approached this, but I think it will be difficult to disagree with what I am about to say.
Look, now they are trying to limit the prices of energy resources - oil and gas. Who is the manufacturer? Russia, Arab countries, in Latin America, in Asia, Indonesia produces, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates produce oil. The United States produces both oil and gas, but they themselves consume everything: they have little left for the external market. That is, it is produced in these countries, and consumed in Europe and in the States.
In my opinion, what they are trying to do now is such an atavism of colonialism. They are used to stealing, robbing other countries. Indeed, to a large extent, the rise of the economies of European countries is based on the slave trade and the robbery of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. To a large extent, the well-being of the States grew on the slave trade and on the use of slave labor, and then, of course, on the First and Second World Wars, this is understandable. But they are used to robbing. And an attempt at non-market regulation in the sphere of the economy is the same colonial robbery, in any case, an attempt at colonial robbery.
But the world has changed, and they are unlikely to be able to do it today.
Alexei Yunashev: Mr President, hello!
Alexander Yunashev, Life.
I would like to know from you how the events of recent months have affected your life, the daily routine? Do you manage to find time for sports?
Next week is New Years. In this regard, I would like to congratulate you on the upcoming holidays and clarify how you will spend them.
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
There is nothing so unusual here. I will try to celebrate this New Year in the circle of relatives, so that close people are nearby, I will watch the President's speech, congratulations.
As for sports, yes, I do, I continue to do. I believe that this is just a means of maintaining physical fitness, and I must be in working condition. This is such a very correct, good "pill" in order to feel in working condition. I wish you all the same attitude towards sports - this is a good thing. They say that it also helps to maintain intellectual abilities, so that in a healthy body there is a healthy mind.
Thank you too.
Holiday greetings! Best wishes!
