The two leaders held bilateral talks at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.Continue reading
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “Results of the Year” event, aired on Russia1 television, has come to an end.
First, the Russian President was interviewed live on a “digital doppelganger” video questionnaire. He replied that only he could speak in his own voice. After the digital avatar question, Putin said it was his “first doppelganger.”
In addition to economic issues, such as the state of Russian car and aircraft production, he also reflected on problems caused by the withdrawal of Western brands. The president said a systematic approach was needed to support industries. He added that the presence of domestic brands had increased by 31 percent.
The Russian economy has enough safety margin to move forward. The economic growth could reach 3.5 percent by the end of the year, and the national debt has fallen from $46 to $32 billion.
On Russia’s foreign policy, he discussed the relations with the U.S. and the EU, as well as the policies of French President Macron, Robert Fico, and Viktor Orbán.
About the latter, he said:
Fico and Orbán are not pro-Russian politicians, they are pro-national, there are no such politicians any more, the rest depends on big brother.”
With Macron, he described their relationship as “quite good, nice, and functional,” but noted that the French president had “cut ties with us” at a certain point.
If there is interest, we are ready. If there is no interest, we will do without. That is it, there is nothing unusual here,”
he added.
On the EU, the president stressed: Russia has no intention of spoiling relations with anyone.
Normalizing relations with the European Union is not just up to us. It is not us who have spoiled it, it is them [the EU] who are trying to push us away.”
He said Moscow has been trying to build relations with Ukraine for decades. However, after the “2014 coup,” they realized that they could not build a normal relationship with Ukraine.
“Russians and Ukrainians are one people. And what is happening now is a huge tragedy, similar to a civil war,” Putin noted and recalled that the whole of the south-east of Ukraine has always been pro-Russian.
On the topic of the United States, he noted:
We are ready to build relations. We believe that the U.S. is an important country, but its policy is imperial, absolutely imperial.”
Putin stressed that the basic conditions for building ties between Russia and the United States are not yet in place, that internal changes are needed in the United States, and that Washington needs to start respecting others in order to improve international relations.
Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured Image: Pixabay