Russia's
President Vladimir Putin has invited journalists to the traditional
annual press conference December 19. Long since, these meetings are
reasonably called 'big', because they gather over a thousand media
representatives and last for more than 4 hours.
The
record was set in 2008, when Putin was finishing his second
presidential term: 4 hours 40 minutes. The record was about to be broken
in 2012, when Putin became president again: 4 hours 30 minutes.
All
in all, during the eight previous meetings the president spent more
than a day in direct conversation with journalists: 24 hours and 59
minutes.
© Photo: RIA Novosti
- Impression of "manual control" over Russia is deceiving - Putin
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has disagreed with the opinion that Russia is
controlled in "manual regime" by the chief of state.
"You are mistaken that the chief of state is dealing with the bulk of governance issues. Questions, which catch the public eye one way or another, come up and there is an impression that everything is being done in the manual regime. This is not so," Putin said at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.
He cited as an example the active work of the government and said that the work of the prime minister "was the most difficult."
"I was the prime minister for four years. You cannot imagine the colossal amount of work the Russian government has to do. Even the prime minister is not aware of some work done by the ministries. It is simply impossible," Putin said.
"The worst job that we have is the job of the prime minister. This is daily hard labor; it's like standing under a waterfall, [the work] keeps rolling over you and never stops," the president said.
"Some questions pop up in the public mind as keynote" so they frequently have to be solved on the level of the prime minister or the president and there is an impression that everything is being done manually," he said.
- Putin warns about dangers of amending constitution clauses on gov't agency creation
Russian
President Vladimir Putin considers it unacceptable to amend the
constitution in order to change the system of forming government bodies
in the country.
"We have the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and the bodies of government are formed within the framework of this constitution. In this sense, we will not change anything. I think this is inappropriate and dangerous to stability of the Russian state," Putin said at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.
"In any case, [it is inappropriate] in terms of the formation of the government bodies," he said.
© Photo: RIA Novosti
Putin about Snowden and NSA surveillance
- I have never met with Snowden, but I'd like to - Putin
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has said he is not personally acquainted with
former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden but that
Snowden looks interesting to him as a personality.
"No, I am not personally acquainted with Mr. Snowden, and I have never met with him. I have a lot of routine to do," Putin said at a press conference on Thursday.
"I can admit he is not uninteresting to me. I think it is thanks to Mr. Snowden that a lot has changed somehow in the minds of millions of people, including in the minds of major contemporary political figures," he said.
- Moscow never inquired into US intelligence operations in Russia – Putin
Russia
has never questioned the fugitive National Security Agency's contractor
Edward Snowden on details of US intelligence operations in the country,
President Putin told reporters today.
"We have never worked with him in terms of [intelligence] operations," Putin said.
"We are not accosting him with questions about the missions his former employer ran in Russia."
This came today at a big news conference in Moscow.
- Putin says NSA intelligence targeted terrorist threats
President
Putin has suggested that the US online spying agency NSA was guided by
security concerns when it organized total surveillance. He said their
programs apparently targeted terrorist threats.
"And still, the aim was to curb terrorism," Putin said. The president added however that the NSA should have followed "clear rules."
Putin
stressed the US intelligence should have checked its moral compass when
spying on masses of people worldwide and stressed there was a need for
"a general agreement" on where to draw the line in public surveillance.
- Putin says he 'envies' Obama's spying impunity
Russia's
Vladimir Putin has confessed to journalists he was envious of his US
counterpart Barack Obama after America's intelligence contractor Edward
Snowden blew the lid off the government's global surveillance effort.
"I envy him [Barack Obama]. I envy him because he can do something like this and get away with it," Putin explained.
Speaking
before a vast audience of Russian and foreign reporters in Moscow, the
Russian president admitted that espionage had always been there.
© Photo: RIA Novosti
Russian foreign policy
- Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad 'but one of defense options' – Putin
President
Vladimir Putin has said that the deployment of Iskander missile systems
to Russia's westernmost region of Kaliningrad is only one – and not the
most effective – option to counter the European defense shield.
"Iskander is not the only defense option at our disposal and not the only reaction to the challenges we are facing," Putin said at today's news conference. "Iskander is but one of defense options, and not the most efficient one, despite being the world's best weapon of its kind."
Western media reported earlier this week that Russia had pulled advanced missile systems to Kaliningrad in Russia's west.
A
Russian defense ministry source confirmed that its "Iskander
operational-tactical missile systems" had been commissioned by the
Western Military District's missile and artillery forces. He added,
however, their deployment did not violate any international agreements.
- Iskander missiles not yet deployed to Kaliningrad region - Putin
Russia
has not yet deployed Iskander missiles to its western exclave of
Kaliningrad in response to an anti-missile shield the United States is
building in Europe with help from NATO nations, President Vladimir Putin
said on Thursday.
"One of the possible responses is to deploy Iskander complexes in Kaliningrad ... but I want to draw your attention to the fact that such a decision has not yet been taken, let them be calm," he told a news conference.
Poland and Baltic states reacted with alarm to recent media reports saying Russia has deployed Iskanders in Kaliningrad.
- Russia may return to visa-free regime with Georgia - Putin
Russia
may return to a visa-free regime with Georgia, Russia's President
Vladimir Putin told a big annual news conference, answering a question
from a Georgian reporter.
"We can see signals from the new Georgian leaders. And, as we understand development of the situation in Georgia, I believe, we could return to a visa-free regime," Putin said.
"We shall consider it at the level of experts," the president added.
© Photo: RIA Novosti
Iran
- US' additional sanctions against Iran are counterproductive - Putin
Russian
President Vladimir Putin believes Washington's new sanctions against
Tehran will not help advance a comprehensive solution to the Iran
nuclear problem.
"As concerns sanctions, I am sure that this is a counterproductive decision. This won't produce anything good from the viewpoint of final agreements on settling the problem," Putin said at a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.
- Putin says he will gladly use invitation to visit Iran
Russian
President Vladimir Putin says he may visit Iran. He told a press
conference in Moscow on Thursday the Iranian leader had invited him to
pay a visit.
"I will use it [the invitation] gladly," Putin said.
© Photo: RIA Novosti
Russian economy
- Russian GDP to grow 1.4%-1.5% in 2013 - Putin
Russian GDP will grow 1.4%-1.5% this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference.
"The latest figures are that real GDP is up 1.4% from last year. We'll probably have 1.5% [for the year], or 1.4%," Putin said.
- Central Bank must exercise oversight functions extremely carefully - Putin
The
Central Bank of Russia must exercise its oversight functions very
carefully, going by the Deposit Insurance Agency's (DIA) opportunities
to compensate personal account holders, Russian President Vladimir Putin
said at a press conference.
"The Central Bank has to be very careful in order to guarantee the interests of account holders, based specifically on the Deposit Insurance Agency's opportunities," he said.
- Gazprom privatization possible only when foreign, domestic gas prices even - Putin
The
privatization of Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) is a possibility down the road,
but only when internal and external gas prices have been brought to a
par with each other, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Generally, here [at Gazprom] there can be movement toward privatization when, and only when, we have evenly defined terms associated with the consumption of the primary energy resource, economic terms most of all," Putin said during a press conference in Moscow.
© Photo: RIA Novosti
Russian-Ukrainian relations
- Russia had to help "brotherly" Ukraine - Putin
President
Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia had to act to help its
"brotherly" neighbour Ukraine out of economic crisis and that Moscow did
not oppose Kiev signing a trade pact with Europeans long as it did not
harm Russia's economy.
The
substantial economic assistance that Russia should provide to Ukraine
in line with the Tuesday agreements between the two countries has been
dictated primarily by the fact that Ukraine has found itself in a
difficult financial and political situation, Russian President Vladimir
Putin said.
"I'll tell you without any sarcasm: we often hear phrases like 'brotherly country' or 'brotherly nation', and we see today that Ukraine is in a difficult situation economically, socially, and politically," Putin said at a press conference on Thursday.
"The situation has been prompted by a number of circumstances and reasons, but this situation is objective. And if we really say that this is a brotherly nation and a brotherly country, we should act as close relatives and support the Ukrainian nation in this difficult situation," he said.
- Gas deal signed with Tymoshenko-led govt was economically feasible - Putin
The
gas contract signed with the Ukrainian government led by Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko was economically feasible, and the deal's price
setting formula was the same as the one applied to all of the consumers
in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference
on Thursday.
"We actively worked with the Ukrainian government headed by Tymoshenko as well. We worked very vigorously in all the areas. By the way, it was her government that signed the gas contract then. And I have always thought that this contract is absolutely economically feasible," he said.
- VTB Capital organizing issue of Ukrainian eurobonds in favor of Russia - Putin
VTB
Capital will organize an issue of Eurobonds by Ukraine, which will be
placed on the Irish Stock Exchange in favor of the Russian Federation,
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference.
Putin said this was Ukraine's own suggestion. He said the choice of organizer was not that big a deal for Russia.
© Photo: RIA Novosti
Greenpeace environmental action in Arctic
- Russia to toughen liability for attacks on companies working on offshore fields - Putin
Russia
will be toughening liability for attacks on companies working on
offshore mineral fields, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"We aren't going to relax anything here. On the contrary, we will only be toughening, and I'd this to be clear and understandable to everyone: we are prepared for discussions and open to them," Putin said at a press conference on Thursday in commenting on the Arctic Sunrise affair.
If there are convincing reasons, "we are prepared to make adjustments to our work, despite financial costs," he said.
- Arctic Sunrise crew eligible for amnesty - Putin
The
Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise crew accused of an attack against the
Prirazlomnaya oilrig will be eligible for amnesty but the amnesty bill
was not drawn up especially to free them from punishment, Russian
President Vladimir Putin said.
"As to their possible eligibility for this amnesty, and as I understand they are eligible, we did not do that for their sake," he told a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.
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