Pierre Sidibe
Vladimir Putin describes to Le Figaro his basic domestic and foreign policy
On Saturday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the newspaper Le Figaro. He described an American plot and Russian economic progress, and explained his relationship with Dmitry Medvedev.
The conversation began with events in the Caucasus, as is now the wont of Russian leaders, a habit readily supported by foreign media. Putin said Georgia and its "outrageous gamble," not Russia, was to blame for the South Ossetian conflict. In fact he repeated the same points he made at a Valdai Club meeting with journalists and experts last Friday, only more calmly.
"I want to repeat that the Russian army was forced to act as it did. It was a response to an armed provocation by the Georgian leadership and to the killing of Russian peacekeepers and South Ossetian locals. And if we overstepped the limits of the peacekeepers' zone, it was because we had to suppress control centres and radar stations used against our aviation and destroy the positions of long-range artillery that fired at peaceful refugees from Tskhinvali."
Mr Putin told the French correspondent that Russia was territorially the largest country in the world and did not need to enlarge itself at Georgia's expense. In the buffer zone, he said, Russian troops pursued only one goal, that of preventing renewed attacks by Georgia against South Ossetia or Abkhazia. Mr Putin said he was sure that monitors from the OSCE, the UN and the European Union would soon replace Russian peacekeepers in the security zone.
"Why do you refuse to allow observers go to Abkhazia and South Ossetia?" - asked the interviewer.
"We do not refuse, but Abkhazia and South Ossetia are independent states, we have recognised their sovereignty and independence, and their governments, not Russia, need to be addressed in order to allow foreign observers in their territory."
While relations with France, in Mr Putin's view, are constructive (French companies have been allowed to mine hydrocarbons in Russia), those with the United States, as Le Figaro said, have worsened dramatically.
"What do you expect from a new American administration?"
"I expect an improvement in relations. America has soured them and it must improve them," Putin said, adding that in global crises mutual interests prevail over mutual contradictions.
It is in our mutual interest, for example, to fight international terrorism and the spread of drugs, but in the case of Afghanistan these efforts look "ineffective" and "far from professional". "Of what value are air strikes at terrorists' infrastructure that cause a heavy toll of life among the civilian population?" Mr Putin asked Le Figaro. "Or of what value are the international coalition's efforts to combat drug trafficking? They are zero, if not negative, because heroin production only grows."
The correspondent then switched to domestic issues in Russia.
"The obstruction of media freedom in Russia and the assassination of several journalists are the cause of much concern in Europe, and for that matter in France. What steps will you take to avoid repeating such events in the future?"
This question set Mr Putin on a sharp discussion, which seemed to continue his inside debate. "You know I am increasingly surprised by questions about freedom of speech in Russia. Especially after the events in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. An interested observer could not but notice that the free press of our western partners was silent when the false impression emerged that Georgia's attack could have a positive result," he recalled his days in Beijing. "And for two days, while no one knew the outcome, the media kept silent as if on command and then, as if on command again - I think it was a command - began accusing Russia of the inadequate use of force. That applies both to the European and American press."
But when the Russian army made effective progress, the propaganda machine turned 180 degrees, Mr Putin said, producing such clichés as "disproportionate use of force", "strikes against civilian targets", "refugees" and "Russia's imperial ambitions".
As for the crimes committed against individuals, "including journalists," Mr Putin said they were being investigated.
The French journalist then tried another tack and asked if capital outflow from Russia would continue and if Russia would stop being a developing nation. Mr Putin replied with gusto: he promised a doubling of GDP by the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 and recalled that the Russian economy posted an 8% increase in the first quarter of the year. He admitted, however, that inflation was still a problem, but assured that such macro-economic troubles also plague many European countries, which push through the "well-known barrier." That is to say, exceed the two percentage point limit on which the European Central Bank insists, while in Russia, by the most conservative estimates, consumer prices will grow by 13%.
The French journalist wound up his interview with a question of much interest to the West: how are the new head of government and the new head of state getting along?
Mr Putin said that he had been working with Medvedev for 17 years and knew him to be a good person and a professionally trained specialist. They both expected that Medvedev would be attacked as a mere figurehead, with no will of his own. They were also prepared to counter these attacks. "All speculation on this subject has no grounds whatsoever," Mr Putin said, and added: "President Medvedev is doing his job."
"Thank you, Mr Prime Minister," the French journalist said.
All-Russia edition