VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
"I think we should work towards universal and total nuclear disarmament. We should all share this goal. Yet no one should abuse it, using these terms and this field of international philosophical thought for selfish ends."
"the national interests of Japan and Russia coincide on many issues, but more importantly, there will be more and more shared interests in the short, medium and especially in the long term perspective. Proceeding from these considerations we should do everything to eliminate any irritants in our bilateral ties. As soon as Japan and Russia feel that there are no such irritants, from that moment we will adopt a different terminology. I would like it to happen as soon as possible."
"A considerable part of Russia's territory is located in Asia but we are aware - and so is Japan - that the population density is very low there but the resources are enormous. And considering the development rates of Asia and the Pacific, Russia should by all means use its Asian advantages, its Asian roots, so to speak, in order to integrate itself in this economic space."
"Incidentally, 60% of the energy resources from the Sakhalin project are supplied to the Japanese market. When the oil pipe approaches the Pacific Ocean, Japan will have more opportunities to avail itself of this resource. However, we expect Japanese companies to show interest in expanding their investment in all the fields."
"There is also timber processing, machine building, which I have mentioned, space - we are taking part in the International Space Station programme - and telecommunications. We have already carried out the project on laying two optical fibre cables between Russia and Japan. We also have timber processing, as I have already said, chemistry and metallurgy. In fact, our Japanese partners and friends can take part in projects in any Russian region."
"This is all the more topical as President Dmitry Medvedev has recently announced the Russian proposal to conclude a new comprehensive energy treaty. We expect it to be an essential contribution to normalising European energy relations, and provide a sound legal basis for due consideration of the interests of all participants in the process - manufacturers, transit countries and companies, and main consumers."
"The energy industry remains among the top priorities of our partnership. We talked in great detail today about the Belene nuclear plant construction and, to my mind, we have arrived at a very interesting means of implementing this project, which is essential for our two countries and the entire region."
"Much has been done in the previous years in the sphere of training personnel for Iraq in diverse areas. We also discussed it today. Many thousands of Iraqi specialists had been trained in the Soviet Union and Russia. Today too Iraqi students study at our higher education institutions. Cooperation in that sphere can and undoubtedly will expand."
"Iraq has been our reliable partner for many years, and we have a good history of relations. The last decade has seen a great amount of mutual work between our two countries. We are keen on seeing Iraq flourish, becoming a strong, independent, sovereign and united country. There is much we can do to develop our bilateral economic ties. Our companies have sound experience of working with our Iraqi partners. This cooperation is a very good asset for the future."
"Regarding business and investment links, I think it is clear to everyone that the emphasis was above all on cooperation in the oil and gas field. Here, just as in the power sector, considerable positive experience of cooperation has been accumulated. We have noted the interest of our Iraqi partners in resuming military and military-technical cooperation. These negotiations are already at the stage of practical contacts and I believe that full-scale negotiations may well be resumed."
"In general, high-tech industries such as space exploration, aircraft building, telecommunications and other industries have acquired great importance in our relations. The most successful and famous example is the creation of the Superjet 100 airliner. We expect that the aircraft will be certified later this year."
"In 2008, our bilateral trade turnover reached $53 billion, which is 50% more than in 2007. Italy ranks fourth among our trade partners. I am very pleased to note that despite the difficult global economic situation, Russian and Italian business leaders are confident and optimistic about our future, and they do not plan to abandon investment projects."
“We believe that the use of force in the world arena has recently been overdone. Instead of conducting unpleasant and prolonged negotiations all too often problems are solved by crude force, and that is counterproductive. I don't think that is the way to act in the international arena, be it with regard to Iran or any other participant in international life, international communication.”
"We are satisfied with how our interstate relations are developing. I am referring to both the regularity of high-level contacts and the trend of the development of trade and economic relations. However, I would like to stress that I am speaking about trends only: In absolute terms, the volume of our trade turnover is rather small. We should also consider the issue of diversification. Russia mainly exports the production of the metalworking and chemical industries, while Chile mainly exports food products."
"The overall volume of our trade and economic relations is growing, yet it remains rather modest in absolute figures. There are attractive venues for potential cooperation, not only in the energy sector but also in tourism, high technologies (including space exploration and nuclear power generation), and investment."
“This year, up to 230 Mongolian students will study in Russian higher educational institutions. We have expanded the quota to this number. We will continue the practice of training specialists for the Mongolian Defence Ministry.”
"Our trade turnover has been growing over the past few years. The leaders of our cooperation, our joint companies, are working well. We have good, promising plans in different spheres, and our main objective now is to create the environment for their implementation. Another objective is to diversify our trade and economic relations."
“Incidentally, we have agreed to grant Mongolia a $300 million loan for agricultural development, which will be paid in tranches. As I said, Mongolia will spend it on agriculture, on this year's sowing season and livestock breeding. This is a tied loan so it will be spent on the purchase of Russian agricultural equipment and other Russian commodities.”
“As for the prospects of bilateral cooperation [Russian and Hungarian], I would like to say that they are not limited to energy or trade and economic relations. It is important to enhance our scientific, cultural and educational ties, and we intend to highlight these fields.”
“Hungarian export to Russia has increased nine-fold-really!-within the six years of Mr Gyurcsany's premiership. Russia has become Hungary's second-largest trading and economic partner after Germany as the result of our latest efforts.”
