ON GAS
An important accomplishment in China is Gazprom's agreement to sell gas to China.
"The price of gas for China will be linked to the Asian oil basket (in other words, gas will be sold for the average Asian price - Ed.). Pricing was the most important issue at the talks."
Putin said that Russia can easily supply gas to both China and the West.
"Last year we hit a peak in gas production - 550 billion cubic meters. Potentially we can produce 600 billion cubic meters without even expanding production facilities. We have enough gas for all of our partners," Putin said.
ON BUDGET DEFICIT
Putin was asked whether Russia will take out a loan from China to cover the budget deficit.
"We can make up for it with general economic growth and by increasing budget revenues," Putin explained. "Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin spoke about an opportunity to borrow money from the World Bank.
"Apparently it will be better to borrow money than to spend our reserves. However, we do not need international loans at this point," he said.
ON IRAN
Putin was asked a provocative question: Why does his position on potential sanctions against Iran contradict President Dmitry Medvedev's statements?
"The Russian president determines foreign policy, and if he believes sanctions are inevitable, they are inevitable," Putin said. "But if you listen carefully to Medvedev's statements you will understand that he was not adamant about it. If talks on the nuclear programme with Iran do not take place or fail, we can consider further steps. But if we announce sanctions without taking specific steps, we will fail to create the conditions necessary for a positive outcome."
ON MISSILE DEFENCE
"We proceed from the statements of US President Barack Obama. He said there will be no third deployment in Europe. We are satisfied with this statement and it would be inappropriate to engage in guesswork on what will happen next. Obama says one thing and Vershboy (US Assistant Secretary of Defence, who made a statement on missile defence in the Caucasus - Ed.) says something else. It's hard to say who is in charge of foreign policy in America. We believe that Obama made a correct and courageous decision. In any event Russia will ensure its own security and we have everything we need for that."
ON GREY IMPORTS
Putin said that the Chinese did not mention the Cherkizov market during the talks. However, both sides are willing to work to get rid of "grey market customs holes."
"The Chinese are not interested in ‘grey procedures' or in violating the law of the country where they operate. When ‘grey' or ‘black market' procedures are used, nobody can be sure of anything - neither in the scale of deliveries, nor in the protection of one's interests," Putin said.
Nigina Beroyeva