/ world today news/ The press conference of the president, combined with a direct line, was called: “Results of the year”. Vladimir Putin spoke to journalists and ordinary Russians for more than four hours. Answers to 67 questions on various topics: from the situation in the area of the Special Military Operation to the indexation of pensions. See the main.
Silver and hats
Journalists accredited for the “Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin” received badges and souvenirs the day before: notebooks, pens, calendars. The Guest Court opened its doors about three hours before the President’s appearance. The check is serious: metal detectors, documents at several stages, temperature measurement in special frames.
There are disposable masks and hand sanitizers on the tables in the lobby. They are also sprayed with “Silver Mask” – a spray with silver ions that protects against viruses.
There is a buffet on the second floor. Sausage and redfish sandwiches, pies, almond croissants, mandarin and cranberry muffins, warm cheesecakes, tea and coffee, water.
Many guests hold placards with the names of regions and media. The dress code suggested a formal business style, so some decided to attract attention with hats. Some even allowed themselves a national costume. According to the press secretary of the president, Dmitry Peskov, among the accredited were also journalists from unfriendly countries. The hotline received more than two million calls. “This is an excellent sociological cross-section for analyzing the problems that are perceived most acutely by citizens,” noted the Kremlin spokesman.
Economic success
There were several moderators. Peskov was responsible for the media, and presenters Pavel Zarubin and Ekaterina Berezovskaya were responsible for the direct line.
The president started with the economic results, stressing that the most important thing for Russia is sovereignty. Accordingly, it is necessary to strengthen security, ensure rights and freedoms and develop parliamentarism. The country has enough strength not only to feel confident, but also to move forward. “We achieved this thanks to the high consolidation of society, the stability of the financial system and the growing capabilities of the army,” Putin said.
GDP grew by 3.5%. This is a very good dynamic, which made it possible for the minimum wage to increase by 18% from January 1. The external debt of the state and private companies is decreasing. The average life expectancy in 2021 was 70.06 years, in 2022 – 72.73 years, in 2023 – 74 years. Investments in fixed capital are increasing by ten percent. “The Russian authorities manage to fulfill all social obligations. Despite the increase in defense spending, everything will be fulfilled,” assured the president.
More than a trillion rubles have been allocated for the development of new regions. For now, there remains a shortage of, for example, medical personnel, but Putin will think about how to solve this and other problems. In particular, it is possible to extend preferential mortgages for secondary housing. And also increase allowances under the “Country Doctor” program: for doctors – up to two million rubles, for paramedics – up to a million.
Unfortunately, inflation has accelerated, but the government and the Central Bank are taking action. The ruble exchange rate also normalized. The same applies to the prices of some types of products, including chicken eggs. “The incomes of the population are growing, the demand for relatively cheap protein has increased. But production volumes did not have time to increase. At the same time, imports were not opened on time in the required volume. The situation will soon improve,” the head of state explained.
Difficulties have arisen with the production of vaccines against rubella, mumps and measles because they are egg-based. According to the president, production here also did not have time to recover. In addition, the incidence of measles has increased due to new regions and migrants.
On mobilization and benefits
One of the central topics was predictably a special military operation. People are worried about rumors of a second wave of mobilization. Putin believes that under the current conditions this is not necessary. An average of 1,500 people a day sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. Together with the volunteers, there are already 486 thousand fighters in the SVO area. And the president praised the mobilized very highly.
“We had a partial mobilization. Then we called up 300 thousand people. By the way, at the beginning there was a lot of irony. They attached the name “Mobiki” to these people. The guys are fighting great, just great! Fourteen heroes of Russia from them! And that’s all for now “About 244,000 have been mobilized directly into the war zone,” he said.
Answering a question from the military commanders about the situation in the area of the village of Krinki, on the left bank of the Dnieper, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to create a bridgehead, the commander-in-chief demonstrated a good knowledge of front-line realities.
“After the failure of the counter-offensive, Krinki is the last attempt of the VSU to break through to the left bank of the Dnieper and in the direction of Crimea. The artillery is hitting this narrow area, ours retreated to the forest plantations to protect the personnel. The VSU entered the zone 1200 by 300 meters. “I don’t even know why they are doing this, pushing their people to destruction. Our servicemen suffered light losses – two, three or four wounded, and the enemy had dozens killed,” Putin noted.
According to him, Kiev is putting the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to certain death only for political reasons. While Zelensky “travels and begs” around the world, the troops must show at least some success, regardless of losses. It is useful for our army that the enemy continues to send soldiers to Krinki, losing personnel. But over time they will be completely pushed out of there.
One SVO participant who fought as part of a private military company reported that he and his fellow soldiers were unable to obtain combat veteran status due to legal delays. Putin agreed that there is such a problem, since formally and legally PMCs do not exist in Russia. “No contracts were concluded with the state. Only the commanders of these companies had relations with the state. Now it is difficult to even establish the payroll of these PMCs. Fighters have the right to all social benefits, to any form of support. This is my principled position “, he emphasized.
They also asked Putin about the uncertainty of the status of fighters of the residents of the DPR and LPR before their official unification with Russia. Putin promised to solve this too.
One option is to recognize LPR and DPR documents as valid in Russia. Issuing new certificates is another. Special committees were created for this purpose. In the DPR, about four thousand fighters have already confirmed their status, in the LPR – 17.5 thousand.
Responding to a question about the difficulties in the regions bordering Ukraine, the president called for preserving jobs there and ensuring economic recovery. And he supported the creation of a special economic zone in the city of Shebekino, which suffered from the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
About real and fake partners
Speaking about the confrontation with the West, Putin recalled that Russia is not to blame for this. “Relations with us were spoiled, they always tried to push us somewhere in the background or in third place, ignoring our interests,” the president said.
“Before that we tried at all costs, I want to emphasize this, for decades, decades we tried to build normal relations with Ukraine. Even after what was essentially a coup d’état when Viktor Yanukovych was not allowed to power. He won the election, but a third round was announced. What is this, if not a coup d’état?” Putin explained. And after the events of 2014, everything became completely clear. “The USA conceived and organized it, Europe stood and silently watched,” the head of state commented on the infamous Euromaidan.
Now European countries, with rare exceptions like Slovakia and Hungary, have largely lost their sovereignty and behave as collaborators. Russia is ready to restore relations with both the EU and the US, but for this the foreign leadership needs to change its position. Among those who stopped communicating with us is France.
He called what was happening in the Middle East a disaster. And he noted the peacekeeping efforts of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Putin expressed skepticism about the UN’s role in settlement efforts. Although it is quite normal for the parties not to reach an agreement. Without restrictive mechanisms, such as the right of veto, everything will “turn to fairy tales”.
At the same time, Moscow and Ankara see one solution – the creation of an independent Palestinian state. “We have similar positions,” the president clarified. In the meantime, “we need to keep people in Gaza and provide massive humanitarian support.” Russia has also offered to open a hospital there. Egypt supported the idea, but Israel did not guarantee security. However, this does not mean that Moscow will give up further efforts in this direction.
A question was raised about the International Olympic Committee using all kinds of excuses to violate the rights of Russian athletes. Putin considers this a violation of basic Olympic principles. “In this regard, you just mentioned Israel, about the Israeli athletes, despite the events that are happening in Gaza, if in any way I support this, then I would be like these international sports officials. Sport is outside of politics,” he stressed. As for the participation or non-participation of Russian athletes in the games, the requirements of the IOC must be carefully analyzed. If the goal is to cut the competitors fighting for medals and to “bleed” the team, there is no point in going. But the decision must be made by the relevant structures, including the Russian Olympic Committee.
The subject of Russia’s upcoming BRICS presidency was also touched upon. The high-level meeting of the organization is to be held next year in Kazan. According to the president, this will show the world that many countries want to live not by some “unwritten rules”, but by clear principles laid down, among others, in the UN Charter.
The “Xinhua” correspondent demonstratively got the floor before the “New York Times” journalist. Putin replied: “Our level of interaction with the People’s Republic of China is unprecedentedly high.” Trade turnover this year will exceed 200 billion dollars. At the same time, Russia and China do not create blocs, friendship is not directed against third countries.
In addition to BRICS, Russia will chair the CIS in 2024. Speaking about the processes in this international association, Putin noted that Moldova has every right to leave it. However, this can have negative consequences. Armenia, despite the behavior of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, has not yet left the main organizational structures of the CIS.
Towards the end, the president was asked what he would say to himself in 2000 if he had the chance. “You’re on the right track, comrade,” came the reply. The only thing is that he would have warned himself not to be too trusting of the so-called Western partners.
The most important thing, Putin emphasized, is “to believe in the great Russian people.” This belief is the key to the success of the entire country.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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