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.”
“We have confirmed mutual intention to continue our efforts to establish a common economic space and a real customs union. I would like to note that three countries - Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan - are now involved in this activity.”
“We adopted the forecast balances of supply and demand for the key products of the Union State and the balances of fuel and energy resources for 2009. I hope you understand how important this issue is under the present circumstances to ensure the stable performance of industrial enterprises.”
“For the first time a peaceful change of top leadership took place in Russia in line with the Fundamental Law, the Constitution. We held presidential elections on time and in accordance with the Constitution. We also held parliamentary elections. These were major events in the life of the country.”
“True, the state has increased its stake in energy giant Gazprom, a strategic company, from 38% to 51%, which makes it a controlling stake. What's so surprising and unusual about this, compared to the European energy sector? How many years did it take France to denationalise its power-generating industry? We are now witnessing relations between major European companies, with the state directly participating in such disputes.”
“Russia's share in trade with Mongolia has grown considerably, reaching 61%. We have good prospects, and by that, I mean agriculture, ore mining, railway development, and nuclear power engineering.”
“It is with great attention and alarm that we are following current developments. Naturally, we have reacted optimistically to the decision of Israel and HAMAS to conclude a cease-fire agreement. We understand the entire complexity and tenseness of the current situation. We hope very much that conditions for positive development will be created.”
“We are content with the course of relations that have taken place between Russia and Armenia. Russia is Armenia's first trade and economic partner in both numbers and in the quality of our cooperation. We hope to continue this positive development. Our partnership is based on confidence. This applies to all spheres of our cooperation, in energy and in other branches of the economy. Our political dialogue is also based on trust.”
“We are glad that our relations are developing consistently, and that we maintain regular contact at all levels - both at the top and in business. Our trade and economic ties are growing. I think that in the current difficult conditions of the world crisis, cooperation between Turkey and Russia is important for overcoming the problems that we now encounter.”
“We are simply stating our opinion. We believe that too much emphasis on resolving problems by force and the neglect of international law are counterproductive and destroy international relations. Near as we can tell from the signals coming from Washington, the current administration shares this approach to a certain extent. We know Obama's position on Iraq, and his intention to withdraw troops from there. We have heard that there is no special need to admit Georgia or Ukraine into NATO. There are different ways of ensuring their security although, frankly speaking, nobody threatens them. We have heard that there is a need to talk about the deployment of a missile defence system in Europe.”
“The main limitation is, of course, in our minds. And, to my deep regret, I must admit it also exists in certain parts of Russian society, too, as well as in Europe and America. We really need to get rid of that. First of all, we would like to have the image of an equal and reliable partner.”
“As for transportation infrastructure, we realise full well that it cannot develop rapidly enough in a country as vast as Russia, even though the target allocations we have earmarked are beyond comparison with what Russia and, before it, the Soviet Union, previously spent on this purpose.”
“We have reduced the tax burden on the energy industry and will make further cuts. We have reduced the profit tax rate from 24% to 20%, which mainly concerns champions. We will help them if need be. We are helping them even now with loan refinancing, which mainly concerns foreign loans. We have earmarked $50 billion for this purpose and established a special agency to assist such companies.”
“True, we are increasing import duties of certain ready-made equipment to promote Russian manufacturers-but I don't think we are extremists in this respect. We are also reducing and even abolishing import duties for technical equipment, especially of the kind Russia is not manufacturing, thus promoting Russian industrial advancement. This support concerns not only the big businesses you call "champions", but also small and medium-sized businesses. We have raised bonus depreciation by 10-30%, which also concerns the entire national economy.”
“We have really done much to implement information technologies in everyday life. The idea of computer networks and access to the Internet in a tiny Siberian village was, until quite recently, implausible. It is a reality now-we have done it through a federal programme. Every Russian school-I really mean every, wherever it might be, in Siberia, the Far East, northern or southern Russia-has computer classes and access to the Internet. IT implementation will go on because economic and social development makes it a must.”
“There are a lot of important issues on the global agenda in which most countries have shared interests. These include the anti-crisis policies we are discussing, joint efforts to reform international financial institutions, to improve regulatory mechanisms, ensure energy security-which demands teamwork by all of us- and mitigate the global food crisis, which is an extremely pressing issue today. Russia is willing to contribute to dealing with international priority issues. We expect all our partners in Europe, Asia, and America, including the new U.S. administration, to show interest in further constructive cooperation in dealing with all these issues and more. We wish the new team success.”
“My conviction is that reasonable restraint in military spending, especially coupled with efforts to enhance global security, will certainly produce significant economic dividends.”
“The world has lately come to face an unheard-of surge in violence and other aggressive actions, such as the present Georgian leadership's adventurous outing in the Caucasus, recent terrorist attacks in India, and escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip. Although not apparently linked directly, these developments still have common features. First of all, I am referring to the existing international organisations' inability to provide any constructive solutions to regional conflicts, or any effective proposals for interethnic and interstate settlement. Multilateral political mechanisms have proved as ineffective as the global financial and economic regulators.”
“We are convinced that those who create attractive conditions for global investment already now will become leaders of the global economic restoration. Our priorities include: the creation of a business-friendly environment and development of competition; the establishment of a stable lending system, resting on sufficient internal resources; implementation of transportation and other infrastructure projects. I have mentioned some of them here.”
“We are already a highly developed and educated nation, but we need Russian citizens to obtain the highest quality and most up-to-date education in those professional skills that will be widely in demand in TODAY'S and TOMORROW'S world. Therefore, we will be proactive in promoting educational programmes. We will expand international and other student exchange programmes. We will also create such conditions that the best researchers and professors - regardless of their citizenship - will want to come and work in Russia.”
