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
“Support from Russian citizens has always helped us, and I’m confident that the government’s future line-up will rely on the people. We must never forget about the needs of ordinary people. We must always remember how government-level decisions influence the lives of all ordinary Russian citizens.”
"Abkhazia knows well Russia's position regarding this conflict and how relations developed in preceding decades. There is no point in pretending otherwise. You know how many times South Ossetia and Abkhazia, in some or other form, approached Russia with pleas either to let them join the Russian Federation or to recognise their independence... But Russia behaved in a very even-handed and very correct manner. Because we always proceeded from one of the fundamental principles of international law, that of the territorial integrity of states. But I think, in order to preserve this territorial integrity after the disintegration of the USSR, it was necessary to treat the peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia with respect."
“The practice of allocating subsidies to balance regional budgets will be preserved. The subsidies will be diminished somewhat, but the practice will be preserved. Incidentally, we in Government have already decided to allocate additional subsidies of 70 billion roubles to 29 regions of the Russian Federation and on Saturday I signed a Government decree to the effect.”
“One of the Government's unquestioned priorities in the sphere of relations between budgets of different levels is financial support of delegated federal powers. The largest of them are spending on housing and utilities discounts for veterans and disabled persons and the exercise of powers in the sphere of employment. Subvention for housing and utilities rates in 2010 will amount to 102 billion roubles. Federal budget spending on employment will increase from 77.5 billion roubles in 2009 to 88.7 billion roubles in 2010.”
“We will continue the practice of granting the regions three-year budget loans at very low interest rates. Of course, this will be done above all for regions with low budget revenues.”
“It needs to be borne in mind that the crisis has affected different regions to different degrees. The hardest hit are the regions whose industries were oriented towards external markets. It is therefore necessary to take another hard look at the method of distributing subsidies and equalizing the budget sufficiency levels with due account of the changes that have taken place in the regional tax potential. I would like to stress that the overall size of the fund for financial support of the regions will not be cut.”
“Next year more than 1 trillion roubles will be allocated to support the regions. That is a hefty sum which, in our opinion, will cover the priority needs of the Russian regions.”
“Our decisions regarding the transport tax, indexation of alcohol, beer, and oil excises, and state duties will strengthen the regional revenue base. According to a Finance Ministry estimate, these measures will bring an extra 96 billion roubles to the consolidated budgets in 2010.”
“The established legislative framework allows us to develop our relations with Abkhazia and with South Ossetia as independent states, without paying any attention to anyone who doesn't like it. And those are the foundations on which relations can be built in economic development and the social sphere, developing interstate relations, and ensuring stability and security. We will act to those ends within the framework of existing agreements and treaties. And in the very near future, and already now, the legal foundations of our cooperation are being strengthened: We have prepared about 40 agreements with Abkhazia on various areas of co-operation. I am confident that this will work well in the benefit of the peoples of Abkhazia and Russia.”
“As usual, we have outlined key priorities to focus on. As for the armed forces, these priorities include maintaining and boosting Russia's strategic nuclear potential, upgrading ballistic missile defence systems, equipping the army with modern attack, control, intelligence and communication systems, as well as streamlining military infrastructure in key strategic areas.”
