Rossiyskaya Gazeta:"Putin reluctant to reveal his plans for 2012 presidential vote"
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin may or may not have decided whether he will run for reelection in Russia's 2012 presidential elections, but he clearly is reluctant to make his plans public at this point.
Speaking to the French media ahead of an official visit to Paris on June 10, Putin evaded questions about his presidential ambitions by saying he would not want to let concerns about the 2012 campaign distract him from his current job and that his ultimate decision would depend largely on his achievements in the capacity as prime minister.
"Of course, President [Dmitri] Medvedev and I are thinking about it already, but the two of us have agreed not to make too much of it early on, so as not to let ourselves be distracted from our main job, which is to deliver on our commitments to the Russian people, doing so with integrity and dignity, consistency, competence, and a sense of responsibility. What we manage to achieve at the end of the day will determine our decision for 2012."
Putin said that under the Russian Constitution, the president and the cabinet of ministers have their own responsibilities and individual domains to work in. There is a huge amount of work to be done, and we do not need to interfere in each other's areas of competence," he said. "Our president is the commander-in-chief whereas the cabinet draws up budgets for the Defence Ministry. Some functions overlap, and we meet up to discuss these together, of course. But please rest assured that we have learned to interact very efficiently indeed."
Putin said that Medvedev and himself regularly exchange advice on key issues.
"I feel I can always ring him up and say, 'Look, we need to discuss and coordinate our actions in this area.' And the two of us then try to develop a common position; thus it becomes more solid and robust. He does the same. He may just call me and say: 'We need to talk. Let's think together. The problem is such and such, and I would like to know your take on it.' "
President Putin brushed off as nonsense Western media reports that the Kremlin is allegedly trying to revive a Soviet-style "personality cult." He said that for him to see it revived would be a nightmare.
What is commonly referred to as the "personality cult" "is not just about worshiping the personality [of an autocratic ruler], but also about wide-scale law violations, which go hand in hand with [political] repression," he said, adding that the Russians know this from their personal experience, which they should share with the West.
He said that the revival of the kind of cult imposed on the Soviet people in the Stalinist era was unrealistic in today's Russia.
"The modern-day Russian public is mature enough to prevent the reemergence of processes we faced back in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s."
Putin had to acknowledge, however, that the nation's level of democratic development was still far from perfect.
According to him, "governments worldwide always seek to present a better image of themselves, and will therefore constrain the power of the media."
But in a democracy, one of the government's priorities should be to create conditions for "civil society to grow," to make it "feel strong and empowered," he said.
When asked about his recent debate with the outspoken rock star Yuri Shevchuk, Putin said: "Our debate was covered by all Russian television channels. Isn't that a manifestation of democracy? If there were no freedom of press [in Russia], barring that footage would have been a natural thing for the government to do. But it went on air all right."
Speaking of foreign policy priorities, Putin said Russia would try its hardest to avoid a new armed conflict with Georgia. "I hope that, with God's help, it will never again come to armed clashes between Russia and Georgia," he said, referring to the August 2008 conflict that had erupted over the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"We did our best to avoid this before, and now we will do everything possible to prevent things from following the same tragic scenario."
He also tried to dispel concerns of neighboring countries that Moscow was considering buying from France amphibious ships Mistral, used as helicopter carriers.
Replying to a question about the harsh criticisms by Iran of Russia's recent support for UN Security Council resolutions against the Islamic Republic, Putin said he was not surprised by that kind of reaction.
"The Iranian leadership is trying to vindicate its position, which is quite an adequate way to respond, I think," he remarked.
Having said that, the sides may eventually be able, through public polemic, to find some forms of interaction that would allow "the Iranian leadership and, most importantly, the Iranian people not to feel deprived in terms of exercising their right to work in high-tech sectors, including the nuclear power industry," but that would at the same time be transparent enough for the international community and Iran's neighbours not to feel concerned about their own secirity.
Speaking of Russia's relations with France, Putin said he was glad that former President Jacques Chirac had passed his legacy of friendship with Russia on to the new generation of French politicians. He described his personal relations with Chirac's successor, Nicolas Sarkozy, as warm and friendly and emphasised the longevity of Russian-French partnership, with many shared interests.
"We pursue our common interests together to ensure security for our two countries and to promote their economic and social development, " Putin said.
As the world tries to overcome the current economic downturn, Russia's trade with France and other European countries is gaining momentum, the Russian prime minister said.
"In the year's first quarter, trade turnover between France and Russia grew by around 30%... While with some other European countries, such as Germany, trade grew 50% over the same period," he said, adding that he expected the trend to continue.
According to Putin, the weakening euro puts export-oriented economies in a more advantageous position. "This creates certain difficulties for us, as in many sectors — say, with France — we are natural partners, but there are also some [sectors] where we are competitors. For instance, in the nuclear power industry and in turbine manufacturing. A weak euro gives an obvious advantage to French manufacturers. And it poses a challenge to our mechanical engineering. Our manufacturers should [therefore] try to make products that are cheaper and of a better quality. I'm sure they can do it."
According to Putin, Russia has not lost its confidence in the euro. "We trust it and believe in it. Otherwise, we would not be holding such a large amount of our gold-currency reserves in the single European currency," he said. "Europe has a solid economic foundation to rely on. Two indisputable leaders of stability here are the German and the French economies. And no one is interested in seeing the European Union fall apart. I think Ms Merkel is right — without the euro, there would be no European Union, even if the title remains."
He suggested that to restore the euro to its former value, "fiscal discipline should be reinforced, and budget deficits be kept under strict control." He also stressed the importance of making currency legislation uniform across the Eurozone.
Asked about progress in Russia's preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics, Putin said the Games would be hosted at the top level, including in terms of security. He said that Russia's security agencies were competent, experienced, well-organised and able to cope with the challenge. He explained to his audience that the Black Sea resort of Sochi was not in any immediate proximity to the North Caucasus and that developments in that volatile region would not undermine security at the upcoming Games.
By Vitaly Petrov
