VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN

Working Day

17 august, 2010 16:06

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin presents commemorative gifts to Russian and foreign pilots who took part in emergency operations to extinguish wildfires across Russia this summer

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin presents commemorative gifts to Russian and foreign pilots who took part in emergency operations to extinguish wildfires across Russia this summer

The ceremony to honour the pilots was held at the Ramenskoye airfield in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, where the Emergencies Ministry's aircraft fleet is based. Mr Putin presented autographed watches to 19 crew commanders. Foreign states contributed 515 personnel and 96 pieces of hardware to the firefighting and rescue efforts in Russia.

The prime minister thanked both the aircraft crews and the governments of their respective countries for their assistance.

Vladimir Putin's address:

Friends, colleagues,

It's a great honour and a pleasure for me to thank you personally for your help.

Experts understand the history of our planet one and two thousand years ago, even a million years ago. But laymen like ourselves have only a very general idea of what it may have been like. Still, it's obvious to everyone that stable, mild weather has become an increasingly rare occurrence in recent years and even decades. Natural disasters, like tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires, are breaking out across the globe.

Last year and the year before, many of our neighbours in Europe faced serious wildfires. Specialists from Russia's Emergencies Ministry, our fire brigades and pilots offered a helping hand to our European neighbours and friends. I'm especially pleased to note that when trouble came knocking at our door, we didn't have to call for help. Almost all of our partners responded immediately, showing their solidarity with Russia. They provided us both practical and moral support, which is extremely important.

The group you represent is a solid force consisting of aviation crews from seven countries, including Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Italy, France and Turkey. Four more countries have contributed their rescue teams. These are Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. Other nations, such as Germany and Spain, as well as the United Nations, have expressed their willingness to send experts. We are thankful to all of you and we appreciate your help.

Two hundred and thirty missions have been flown. These were essentially combat missions. I've had the opportunity to see firsthand how pilots fought the wildfires. They had to gather water at low altitudes and dump it on active fire zones while dealing with extremely high temperatures, ascending hot air currents, and smoke. They had to fly through what was essentially a smoke screen.

Your job is not comfortable or easy, and it is dangerous. It is a job that requires a great deal of skill, precision, composure, stamina, and courage.

It is thanks to your contribution - as I've said, 230 missions were flown in total, and these can rightly be considered combat missions - that many wildfires were contained and many infrastructure sites and villages survived.

I would like to express my appreciation to you personally and to your governments. I believe that your well-coordinated work will inspire all of us to show the same solidarity and teamwork in difficult situations in the future. Thank you very much and all the best. Thank you!

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Following his official remarks, Mr Putin chatted with pilots. He pointed out that their work is also important from the point of view of strengthening interstate relations.