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.”
"So-called thick or literary magazines have traditionally played a major role in Russian literary life. The writers at the meeting repeatedly brought up the idea of supporting these thick magazines. Let me point out that these magazines must be available to general readers, both directly through subscription and in our libraries."
"It is still a government priority to encourage literature and writers. Accordingly - as I understood it - you proposed a Russian Federation Government resolution that would increase the number of Russian Government awards for arts and culture from 20 to 25. Unfortunately, in previous years there were no writers among those who received awards. But this increase of five awards will enable additional support of talented writers, and these additional five awards will be given exclusively to writers. Let me remind you that a laureate receives one million roubles with his or her award. In addition, grants for creative initiatives in the arts will be doubled from 25 to 50 million roubles, which also means an increase in funding for literary projects. We will allocate the necessary funds from the federal budget for 2010."
"It is necessary to thoroughly review how efficiently Union funds allocated for joint programmes are being spent. High-tech projects remain one of our highest priorities. It is vital that we continue joint efforts to ensure a decent living and social safety net for our citizens and develop our human capital. This is why we have prepared and approved the Concept for the Union State Social Development."
"This plan has already had a positive impact on the Russian and Belarusian economies, and has encouraged trade between our two countries. There are also a lot of other means to encourage trade further. We must try our best to use the advantages that come from our two countries' integration to recover from the crisis. The official establishment of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on January 1, 2010 will also contribute to fulfilling this goal. We expect that it will allow us to take cooperation between Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan to a new level."
"It is particularly important that we both support the construction industry now and make substantial progress on housing problems. First of all, we need to be more proactive in allocating land for residential construction, in city-planning, and in resolving issues with utility networks. If we fail to do this, we are at risk of losing the momentum in residential construction that we have worked so hard to gain recently."
"We decided to continue employment programmes through 2010, and we will allocate 36 billion roubles from the federal budget for this purpose. The effectiveness of our efforts mainly depends on municipal authorities, their ability to handle the situation on-site, and their understanding of the actual state of affairs. Obviously, it will be necessary to revise the priorities for our programmes supporting the labour market, which must be done while taking into account long-term plans to modernise and diversify the economy."
"Next year's priorities must include increasing employees' professional skills, thus ensuring effective employment and creating new, highly-paid jobs. We need to pay more attention to retraining and advanced training programmes. We must also more actively support self-employment and new businesses. In addition, employment programmes must be supplemented by measures targeted to support the most vulnerable social groups, including large families, people with disabilities, seniors - everyone who has difficulty finding a new job, or is unable to find one at all."
"We will be preparing appropriate solutions at the level of the federal government, and we will develop an exhaustive list of paid services that may be offered to our citizens. An exhaustive list. Everything else must be free. All intermediaries must be eliminated, so that no organisation can come between a citizen and a government authority, and so that no organisation will extort money from our citizens."
"I think that a specific programme for improving the quality of services must be implemented in each municipality. Methods for resolving this problem - from applying unified standards and administrative regulations to establishing centres with multiple functions that operate in the "single window" mode - have been identified more than once. Other proposed measures such as using advanced electronic technologies are promising, and this is what I would like to direct your attention to."
"Relations between Cyprus and the Russian Federation are based on long-standing traditions and continue to develop successfully. The legal base for cooperation between our countries is being strengthened. Quite recently, on October 8, the Government of the Russian Federation approved a protocol for an intergovernmental agreement that would protect capital investment. I think that the ratification of this agreement by both countries will make our economic cooperation even more transparent.."
"Our foreign partners, as a rule, are very sensitive to environmental issues and conservation. I agree with them entirely. In that sense the establishment of new, state-of-the-art enterprises in Russian regions will contribute to the responsible use of natural resources, help put an end to predatory exploitation of forests, and improve the environment not only in Russia, but in the whole north-west of the European continent. And this also holds for other parts of the world, for example the Far East."
"Russia supports the Finnish initiative of holding a Baltic summit in Helsinki early next year. I believe that its decisions will strengthen environmental cooperation in the region. Let me remind you that Russia currently holds the presidency of the Helsinki Commission on the Protection of the Baltic Marine Environment. Needless to say, we are ready to render our Finnish colleagues every assistance in the context of the future forum. I would also like to tell you that the Government of the Russian Federation has decided to prepare and launch a programme to improve the Baltic Sea ecology. The programme will cover the period of 2010-2015. It is based on the measures set forth in the Helsinki Commission Action Plan."
"I would like to repeat what has already been said more than once: Russia, like any other country - and I would like to stress this point - cannot be content with merely supplying primary raw materials to the world market. I am referring to all kinds of raw materials, be they hydrocarbons, bio-resources, or timber. Like any other country, Russia is interested in using its natural riches in the most effective and rational way. This is our strategic objective. We will tackle it by transforming our economy, making it less dependent on the export of commodities, and introducing advanced, innovative technologies."
"Any country - every country - in the world wants to reduce the volume of raw materials export and to increase the volume of processing in its own territory. Russia is not doing anything unusual in this respect - it simply wants to develop the country and its economy. Is this wrong? However, I would like to say again that we are not trying to attain this goal at somebody else's expense, which is why we are acting carefully, after notifying partners about our plans. Moreover, we make concessions to them on other issues."
"The only thing we consider unacceptable is the use of diplomatic services outside the Vienna Convention. I think that is indisputable. We very much hope to see a uniform interpretation of these issues on the part of our partners."
"The partnership between Russia and Finland are a model for genuine, good neighbourly relations. This is also true of our political, business and cultural ties, especially since in 2008 Russia has again emerged as Finland's biggest foreign trading partner. The trust we have built up enables us to discuss the most complicated issues frankly and reach the best solutions for both our countries' benefit."
"It is important that in spite of the global economic crisis, the implementation of key Russian-Finnish projects is proceeding at a good pace. Although there has been some decline in the volume of trade, I am confident that in the future we will be able to turn this situation around. In this connection I would like to remind you that last year Russia emerged as the biggest trading partner of the Finnish Republic. We are committed to building up our business ties, improving their quality and stability, and developing both the traditional and new areas of economic partnership."
"Finland's authority as a major player in the world timber market is unassailable. And very importantly, it applies not only to the quantity, but also to the quality of its products. I am referring to Finland's modern technologies, the advanced processing of raw materials, and advanced environmental programmes. All these areas are extremely important for us. The experience of our Finnish partners and their advanced know-how will certainly be used in Russia. I think it is in our mutual interests to shift the focus towards joint development of the markets in third-party countries, and to concentrate our resources on creating and promoting high-tech nanotechnology and biotechnology products in the timber industry. Ultimately, the future belongs to these technologies."
"During the talks we held behind closed doors, the Finnish Prime Minister appealed to us to review the issue of duty-free birch deliveries for the Finnish timber processing industry. I believe we could expand the parameters and hence the volume of such deliveries to our partners abroad. The issue concerns the so-called birch supply balance, which is birch timber with a diameter of up to 15 cm. "
