/Pogled.info/ In an exclusive interview with the China Media Group, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that “Russian-Chinese relations are a major factor in world stability” and expressed confidence that they are developing “in the right direction, which meets the interests of both the people”.
According to the president, China and Russia actively cooperate in the field of energy. “We have signed an agreement for the construction of gas pipelines in the Far East, we are also exploring the possibilities for another through Mongolia. Two nuclear power units are also under joint construction. There is a good prospect for cooperation in automotive, shipbuilding, aircraft building and other fields,” he stressed. “We expect our trade to exceed $200 billion by the end of the year,” Putin said.
Commenting on the One Belt One Road initiative, the Russian head of state indicated that “it came at the right time and has positive progress because it aims to unite the efforts of all countries for the sake of common development.” “The initiative aims to mobilize all forces for common development. Our vision of the Eurasian Economic Union fully coincides with that of “One Belt, One Road”. Yes, there are some who think that it is an attempt by China to conquer other countries, but we see that this is not the case. We see a willingness to cooperate. Our own ideas for the development of the Eurasian Economic Union, such as the construction of Greater Eurasia, are fully compatible with China’s Belt and Road initiative. The countries of the Eurasian Economic Union have benefited from cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative with a total investment of $24 billion. Isn’t that good? Each country cooperates in bilateral or multilateral frameworks of its choice, pursuing its own interests and avoiding its own shortcomings. No one is imposing anything,” Vladimir Putin pointed out.
“The main strength of the concept of cooperation proposed by the Chinese side is that no one imposes anything on the other. The main thing is to consider things, not only to look for acceptable solutions, but also to find ways and projects, with the consent of all parties, to achieve common goals. This is what is unique about China’s interaction with other countries at this stage under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, where no one imposes on the other, there is no coercion, but rather opportunities are provided. And even if there are difficulties, solutions are always found with a proactive approach. In my opinion, this is what distinguishes the Belt and Road initiative from other projects with a colonial tinge pursued by some countries,” the Russian president said.
Commenting on the Ukrainian crisis, Putin recalled Moscow’s position that it began in 2014, when “Western countries, which were guarantors of the agreement between President Yanukovych and the opposition, forgot their guarantees for just a few days and even encouraged the coup.” “Nevertheless, we signed the Minsk agreement. Russia tried everything to follow this path and resolve the conflict, but it was repeatedly blocked. I want to remind you that when Ukraine gained independence, the main document that laid the foundation for it as a country was the Declaration of Independence, which essentially stated that Ukraine was a neutral country. But why did the West announce that it expected Ukraine to join NATO in 2008, when there was no crisis in Ukraine? No one knows why it happened. And so, year after year, the West continued to add fuel to the fire, and finally in 2014, the crisis erupted. We have never opposed a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis. In fact, at one point we were even ready to agree. But I want to emphasize that this should be done in the context of ensuring Russia’s legitimate security interests. The Ukrainian side has set a very strict framework for ensuring security, and we have basically agreed with this framework. But as soon as our troops withdrew from the vicinity of Kiev, the Ukrainian side threw all these arrangements into the fire,” Putin said.
“Of course, we are aware of the proposals of our Chinese friends and value them highly. I think they are very realistic and can be the basis for a peace agreement. But unfortunately, the other side does not want to conduct any negotiations,” the president pointed out.
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