The following is a
report, from the website of the President of Russia, of a news conference with Vladimir
Putin after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, September 12, 2014
* * *
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, please,
go ahead.
QUESTION: The SCO summits always draw a lot of attention,
and given the current international situation, the attention is even greater
this time. What are the summit’s main results in your view? Could you give some
greater detail? Of course we all noted the statements some of the CIS
countries’ leaders made today with regard to Ukraine. In how much detail was
the Ukrainian crisis discussed at the summit and how close are the SCO
countries’ leaders’ views on this matter?
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Regarding the summit overall, I think it was
a big success. We reviewed what has been achieved so far in the economy, in
coordinating our positions on the international stage, and discussed at the
meeting in narrow format our assessments of current events and the threats that
we see and that we must respond to in timely and competent fashion, above all
the Afghanistan problem. I will not go into detail now, but you probably all
saw it for yourselves anyway, and it is all reflected in the documents. We
discussed other troubled parts of the world too, North Africa, Iraq of course,
and other countries. Of course we also discussed the situation in Ukraine. I
briefed my colleagues on what is happening there. Our common position (and I
mean precisely our common position, as we share practically the same views and
approach regarding this issue) is reflected in the relevant summit document.
You can take a look at it for yourselves. It sets out everything in detail. I
would not say that Ukraine was discussed as a separate issue of its own, rather
it was examined as one of the issues we face today.
I had bilateral meetings with nearly all of my colleagues. I
had very constructive meetings with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and with the various participants and members of
the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, including President of the People’s
Republic of China Xi Jinping. We have highly developed bilateral relations with
each of these countries. China, as you know, is our biggest trade and economic
partner and our bilateral trade will reach a figure of nearly $90 billion this
year. China is our biggest partner among individual countries. We also
discussed our plans to enlarge the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. You saw
that we adopted documents today relating to procedures for accession of new
member countries to the organisation.
Russia took over the organisation’s presidency for the
coming year. We plan to hold a summit in Ufa next year. Over this time, we plan
to hold more than 100 events of various types and level, economic and
humanitarian. The summit will of course be the concluding event and will take place
in July next year. Or course we will also work on the question of accepting new
members into the organisation.
India and Pakistan have both expressed the desire to join
the organisation. We will work with all of our partners and colleagues and with
all participants in the organisation. Let’s see what results we can achieve by
July next year. Overall, our delegation sees this summit as having been very
productive and a big success.
QUESTION: Continuing with the subject of the SCO summit, I
want to clarify some of the bilateral talks’ results. In particular, did you
reach any new agreements with China, and how did the trilateral meeting go with
the presidents of China and Mongolia?
VLADIMIR PUTIN: We held this first ever trilateral meeting
at Mongolia’s initiative. Excuse me for not mentioning this before. We agreed
that we will continue meeting in this format. Russia proposed that we meet in
trilateral format on the sidelines of SCO summits, all the more so as Mongolia
is an observer country in the SCO and regularly attends the summits.
We have plenty to discuss of course in this trilateral
format. Our natural geographical proximity and Mongolia’s geographical location
between its two biggest trade and economic partners – China on one side and
Russia on the other – can encourage us into carrying out many joint projects,
especially in infrastructure and the energy sector. These are all things that
we discussed.
Again, acting on Mongolia’s proposal, we also agreed that we
will perhaps raise the level of our regularly functioning political instrument.
The three countries’ representatives meet regularly at the level of ministerial
department heads. We agreed to raise this level to that of say deputy minister
or perhaps even minister.
We have an immense amount of work to do with our Chinese
partners too. This includes work in the energy sector, machine building,
aircraft manufacturing, and military technical cooperation. We went over our
entire bilateral agenda, highlighted some things in particular, and agreed on
what needs to be pushed through at the political level. Overall, we are happy
at the way our relations with China are developing.
QUESTION: The European Union has adopted a new package of
sanctions. How do you assess them and how damaging will they be for Russia?
Will there be any countermeasures, sanctions in response, and if so, what will
they be? The new sanctions list the EU has announced includes politicians from
Crimea, Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics, and State Duma deputies too.
[Vladimir] Zhirinovsky is on the list and so is [Vladimir] Vasiliyev. What are
your thoughts on the matter?
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Russia’s position on sanctions is well-known.
We have long since realised that sanctions as a foreign policy instrument are
not very effective and almost never produce the hoped-for results, even when
used against small countries, let alone against a country like Russia.
Of course, imposing sanctions always causes some damage,
including for those who impose them. The sanctions against Russia will be no
exception. We know the losses that European business and US business too will
face and the damage done to trade relations as a result of the measures Russia
has taken in response, but as we say in such cases, we have been left with no
choice.
As for the latest round of sanctions, the use of this
mechanism looks somewhat strange, even in a generally strange situation. I say
this because, as you know, I had a telephone conversation with President of
Ukraine [Petro] Poroshenko recently, and following on from that conversation I
proposed an action plan for setting the conflict on track towards a peaceful
settlement.
I even said at that moment in Ulan Bator, talking about
these plans, that President Poroshenko and I were generally in agreement in our
positions. Building on that conversation, I put forward a seven-point plan,
which, as we saw, essentially became the base of the peace agreements signed at
the contact group’s meeting in Minsk.
We are pleased to see that the process did begin and that
hostilities have stopped, the militia have ceased hostilities and the Ukrainian
army, to give the Ukrainian President his due, has also taken the required steps
under the agreements. They have pulled back, in some places at least, and have
pulled back their artillery and multiple launch rocket systems to a distance
from where they cannot fire on populated areas.
The peace process has begun and so have the first contacts,
and I think that the possibility has emerged that this process might produce a
political settlement, even if just a temporary one for now. This is definitely
a positive shift in the situation that has unfolded in southeast Ukraine.
But I cannot fathom what these latest sanctions are actually
about. Perhaps it is not to someone’s liking that the process has taken a
peaceful turn? I have already said many times that our Western partners pushed
things towards an anti-constitutional coup in Kiev, and then supported the
military operations in southeast Ukraine, and now, just when the situation has
taken a turn towards a peaceful settlement, they are taking steps that
practically aim to disrupt this peace process. Why are they doing this?
I can’t help but think the seditious thought that no one
actually cares about Ukraine itself. They are just using Ukraine as an
instrument to shake up international relations. Ukraine is being used as an
instrument and has been made hostage to the desire of some players on the
international stage to revive NATO say, not so much even as a military
organisation, but as a key instrument in US foreign policy, in order for the US
to consolidate its satellites and scare them with a threat from abroad. But if
this is the case, this is a real shame because it means that Ukraine has
essentially become hostage to another’s interests. I do not see anything good
in this practice.
As for our retaliatory measures, the Government is
considering this. But if they are applied, then they will only be applied with
the goal of creating better conditions for us. I feel there are certainly
downsides to what was done to limit food imports for us as well, but they are
minimal. There are far more positives for stimulating the development of our
own agriculture, freeing the market from Western manufacturers that have
thoroughly assimilated in our market, and meanwhile, they receive much more
support and subsidies at a much higher volume than our agricultural producers.
Some people know, and others don’t, that subsidies per
hectare of cultivated lands in the European Union are six times greater – I
want to stress this – than in the Russian Federation. So the competition here
was not very fair. But if the Government comes up with an idea that will help
us somehow resolve our internal problems, then I suppose we should agree with
it. But we will not do anything to harm ourselves. This concerns our response
to sanctions.
As for the lists, I welcome this resolution by the European
Union. The less our officials and heads of major companies go abroad and work
on pressing matters instead, the better. The same is true of State Duma
deputies, who need to communicate more frequently with their voters, rather
than tanning somewhere at foreign resorts. Nevertheless, some questions arise;
there are some names there that seem rather strange. I do not recall, I think
it was one of the deputies, I think it was Babakov. And then the wording there…
REPLY: For assets.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Yes, for assets in Ukraine and in Crimea.
But Ukraine’s current leadership also has many assets in Ukraine and in Crimea.
Apparently, if you follow this logic further, they themselves need to be
included in the sanctions list.
Moreover, it included the prime minister of the
self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic. Our Western and Ukrainian partners insisted
that officials from the self-proclaimed republics participate in the peace
negotiation process. They came to us requesting that we use our influence to
encourage them to participate.
We tried to do this. The prime minister is participating in
this work and was accepted as a participant in the negotiations. But then they
included him on the sanctions list. What is this, another attempt to somehow
disrupt this peace process? Or what? What is this?
I would not want to think so. But there is certainly no
logic in this whatsoever. And overall, you know, I am against these types of
things – tit for tat, if they are not letting somebody in then we are not
letting somebody in. We invite them to our nation; let them come and work. We
are not going to refuse anyone. It is not even our choice. We will not follow
that path. But if somebody does not want to work with us, there will always be
alternatives.
QUESTION: You said that you will not do anything to harm
Russia with these sanctions; nevertheless, the limitations in food imports have
already led to increased prices.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: You apparently got a little distracted,
because I stated that certain aspects of this are undoubtedly negative. But if
we look at the problem comprehensively, there are more positives than
negatives.
QUESTION: Yesterday, your aide said that [limitations] might
involve cars, pharmaceuticals and…
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Listen. I am not getting involved in such
technical work at this phase. It is true that the Cabinet is currently thinking
this over, preparing certain suggestions. If my colleagues in the Cabinet come
to the conclusion that a specific set of steps correspond to the interests of
our economy, then we will do it. And if it’s just about showing off how tough
we are, just to snap back and then to suffer damage as a result of that, we
will not do it.
Ultimately, I wanted to convey our approach; as for the
concrete steps that will be taken, if they are taken at all, we will see. Let
the Cabinet think about it and make suggestions.
Thank you very much.
Answers to Journalists' Questions, President of Russia website, September 12, 2014
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