Rossiiskaya Gazeta: “Don't rock the boat”
Vladimir Putin has described why he would like to be president again.
The Russian prime minister began the first day of his visit to China with a successful resolution to the oil dispute, and concluded with an explanation to local journalists why he planned to run for president and how it was related to his passion for sport.
Chinese Premier Wen Jibao met his counterpart at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square. Immediately following a limited-attendance conversation, Wen said that they had managed to agree on many issues, and in particular, that they had come to "a complete agreement on the price of oil in the Russian-Chinese oil pipeline."
Wen proposed setting a new record by raising trade turnover to $70 billion. Putin supported him, mentioning strategic objectives of his own: to reach $100 billion by 2015 and $200 billion by 2020.
The Russian head of government stressed that the atmosphere of their negotiations was at once business-like and friendly, as well as their desire to seek compromises. He said that there were absolutely no problems between Russia and China in the political and humanitarian areas. But as for trade and economic ties, it was very good that several issues of a pragmatic nature were being addressed there. "The sellers want to receive more for their products, and the buyers want to acquire cheaper and better products," the prime minister said, describing the issue. Later, in an interview with the Chinese media, he would explain he was referring to gas.
"We are already nearing the final stage of our work on the supply of natural gas to the Chinese market. Preparations are underway for the construction of a large oil refinery in China. We'll try to develop closer cooperation in nuclear engineering, working off of the basis of some of the most advanced technology in the world," Putin said, listing energy agreements.
But Vladimir Putin did not consider gas supplies to be among the key areas of Russian-Chinese cooperation. Their cooperation was becoming increasingly diversified, he said. He believed that cooperation in high-tech industries should come first, and that Russia and China need to unite their technological and financial capabilities.
The Russian prime minister explained that gas in China could be pumped along two routes: an eastern one and a western one. "Our Chinese friends believe that the western route that passes through Gorny Altai is of greater importance to them during the initial phase," he said. "We are looking into the possibility of supplying gas along the eastern route starting in Vladivostok."
Pricing is a major issue, Putin said, as he returned to the negotiations. "We don't deal with trading issues at the political level," he explained. "This area is the responsibility of our respective economic agents. I believe they will find a fair solution to this issue, one that will be mutually beneficial to both China and Russia. We know what China needs, and China knows what we are able to supply. There is a vast resource base."
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told reporters that a more detailed roadmap for blue fuel would emerge within the next two weeks. He pointed out the fact that by 2020, China is expected to consume over 300,000 billion cubic metres of gas per year. This is where Gazprom will find its niche, he said.
A basic agreement was reached on the oil dispute and will be formalised at the corporate level, Sechin said, but he declined to give any exact figures. He said that all debts had been settled through a market solution. One may recall that the dispute arose in the first place over China's failure to pay the full amount of money due for Russian oil supplies.
Vladimir Putin then continued to discuss the economic aspects of cooperation in his interview with the local media. One reporter wanted to know whether Russia and China could act as the leaders in establishing a new world order. He asked how Russia and China are cooperating with regard to reforming the international economic system. Putin replied, "If the translation was accurate, then there's a difference between establishing a new world order and reforming the existing one. We should be talking about reforming existing arrangements, and BRICS countries should enjoy an elevated status here."
The reporters went on to ask whether the debt crisis in Europe had any effect on Russia, and what needed to be done to alter the situation in which, as they quoted Putin as saying, "the United States is a parasite on the global economy." Debt problems stem from a lack of proper fiscal discipline, but this remains more of a political issue than a financial one, the Russian prime minister replied. Addressing and resolving this will take somewhere between 1 and 1.5 trillion euros. "This sum is manageable for the eurozone," Putin said. Europe's leading nations should back up those who find themselves in over their heads. That calls for a certain degree of political courage on the part of their leaders, because these would obviously not be welcome developments for their people. But it would ultimately benefit Europe. "So something must be done," he concluded.
Putin added that his comments on the U.S. situation were not anything extraordinary, and that any number of experts, leaders and government officials in Europe's leading states say the same thing. He noted that the U.S. Federal Reserve System was buying up treasury bonds, "or simply printing money." "I will not pass judgment on this," the premier said. "Maybe our American counterparts have a better and more accurate understanding of the situation than we do ... But that was not how they advised us to behave, back in the day."
"All countries run into difficulties one way or another. There is nothing to be glad about there," Putin said, proposing that all countries should unite to work out a common solution. "Nobody today is interested in rocking the boat – a boat that globalisation has put us all in together. We need to tread carefully in order not to rock the boat, not to let in any water and not to capsize," he said.
After noting that Russia and China have reached an unprecedented level of confidence in the political arena, Vladimir Putin unveiled his political plans. He was asked how having a black belt in judo, flying aboard a fighter jet and scuba diving helps with politics. "I don't see anything extraordinary in this," he said. Thousands of people practice martial arts, a vast number of people fly planes and even more scuba dive. "I just like new things," he said, in summary. "I enjoy taking up new activities. I love the process." Sports help in all fields of human endeavor, the prime minister added, recalling his visit to Shaolin: "I watched a remarkable performance of the monks who practice martial arts. I envied them. I can't do what they can do."
"You wrote that you were like a galley slave, yet you decided to take up this job once more. What is your vision for the future development of Russia?" Chinese reporters asked. "I think that the decision I made with the incumbent President Dmitry Medvedev was absolutely the correct one," Vladimir Putin said. "It will not weaken the system of governance in Russia, but rather, will strengthen it. I believe that we should let the people, Russian citizens, judge our proposals during the parliamentary and presidential elections. We have a clear understanding of what we need to do and how we need to do it. We are acting openly and honestly with regard to the challenges that we are facing."
Russian journalists were eager to ask their questions as well, and did manage to edge one in. Putin was asked to comment on the verdict handed down to the former Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, who was sentenced to seven years in jail. "In itself, it's a good figure," the Russian prime minister said. "Though, to be honest, I can't quite understand why she received those seven years." After adding that for him, Tymoshenko was neither a friend nor a relation, and that moreover, she was a political opponent because she always oriented herself to the west, politically, Vladimir Putin said that little had changed in that respect. He further said he was not familiar with the indictment issued by the court, but judging by media reports, the reason for the guilty verdict was her signing of the gas contracts with Russia. "Tymoshenko didn't sign anything," the prime minister said. Those commercial contracts fully conformed to Russian law and international regulations. He also stressed that "it is dangerous and counterproductive to cast the entire package of agreements into doubt."
Putin also emphasised that in drafting the gas agreements with Ukraine, the Russian side proceeded based on the practice between Gazprom and its partners in Europe. "The contracts were based on the same principles that underlie Gazprom's agreements with other European partners, and they prescribed the same price formula as with them," the prime minister noted.
Vladimir Putin warned Kiev against a unilateral revision of the gas contracts following Tymoshenko's sentencing, stressing that it would be "dangerous and counterproductive." "The main point is that those commercial contracts fully conformed to Russian and Ukrainian law, and to international standards," he added.
Kira Latukhina
