"At present, the main task of Russia is to consolidate the sovereignty of the state, strengthen border security and ensure the rights and freedoms of citizens. Russia's Putin said this at the beginning of the annual large-scale press conference on the 14th. RIA Novosti said that the whole event lasted a total of 4 hours and 4 minutes, and Putin answered 67 questions, covering topics such as the progress of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Russian-Chinese relations and Russia's economic development. Putin's first annual press conference was held in 2001, and this is the 18th annual press conference attended by Putin during his tenure, and it is also the first time that Putin has attended the event since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The last time Putin held his annual press conference was in December 2021, when there were two different formats: a live online interaction and a large press conference, and this year it will be a combination of the two. RIA Novosti reported on the 14th, citing the opinion of Shatrov, chairman of the Russian Strategic Development Expert Committee, that Putin expressed a resolute attitude on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, special military operation and other issues, and once again pointed out the historical and practical responsibility that Western countries should bear in causing this situation. Putin's statement on the situation in the domestic and social economic fields shows the positive trend of Russia's overall development and conveys confidence to Russian society and the outside world.
"The situation in the Russian army is improving along the entire line of contact".
Victory will be ours", Putin said at a press conference about the progress of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, adding that peace will come when Russia achieves the goals of the special military operation. The goals of the Russian special military operation have not changed, that is, to ensure the neutral status of Ukraine, "denazification" and "demilitarization". "Ukraine does not want to start negotiations on its demilitarization, so Russia is forced to resort to military means. Putin said that since the launch of the Ukrainian army, the Russian army has destroyed 747 Ukrainian tanks and more than 2,300 armored vehicles. "In essence, Russians and Ukrainians are one people, and what is happening now is a great tragedy, similar to the civil war that took place after the brothers parted ways. ”
Putin said that as of the 13th, Russia has more than 4860,000 people have signed service contracts with the Ministry of Defense, and there are currently 2440,000 mobilized personnel are in the zone of the special military operation, plus the personnel of private military groups, in the area of the special military operation in Ukraine there are a total of 6170,000 Russian servicemen. As for whether there will be a second waver, Putin said that it is not necessary yet.
Putin stressed that Russia's victory is "obvious and inevitable", and "modestly speaking, the situation of the Russian army in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine has improved almost along the entire line of contact". However, Putin also mentioned that the length of the front line is close to 2000 kilometers, and the participants in the special military operation do not always get all the necessary things, including UAVs, "to solve these problems, the state, the Ministry of Defense and industry are working together, as a result of which various new ** systems have appeared, including electronic warfare systems". Regarding Ukraine's "** Putin said that the Ukrainian army has no results in any direction, and Kyiv is driving its own people to extermination," even the Ukrainian servicemen themselves say that this is a point of no return.
Talking about Ukraine's recent visit to many Western countries, Putin said that their purpose is to "get additional funds" to meet the needs of equipment, etc., for which the Ukrainian side is trying to show "achievements". Ukraine is receiving a large number of **, but these ** will soon run out, and the Russian army is constantly destroying these**.
Putin asked the Chinese reporter to ask first
Putin said that the level of cooperation between Russia and China "has reached an unprecedented height." This year's ** amount will exceed $200 billion, an increase of 30% compared to last year. At the same time, Russian-Chinese cooperation is developing in various fields, including infrastructure and high-tech spheres. Putin said that Russian-Chinese relations are an important guarantee for maintaining world stability, and that "Russia and China are not aligned, and our friendship is not directed against third countries." Putin pointed out that the president's visit in March this year injected strong impetus into the development of bilateral relations, when the two sides reached a consensus on eight key directions for the development of bilateral relations. In response to a reporter's question about the "expansion" of Chinese cars in Russia, Putin said that this phenomenon is not unique to Russia, and Chinese manufacturers are also actively exploring other markets, "at the same time, the quality of their cars is constantly improving."
Some Russian media noticed that there was a small episode at the press conference, and Putin gave priority to China**. According to the Russian weekly newspaper "Arguments and Facts", when Dmitry Peskov, the Russian press secretary in charge of selecting the questioner, decided to ask a reporter from the US "New York Times" to ask a question, he was unexpectedly interrupted by Putin: "No, first the Xinhua News Agency (questioned), then the New York Times." ”
Regarding Russia's relations with the United States, Putin said that Russia is ready to improve and develop relations with the United States, but at present the conditions are not yet in place, and "the imperialist policy (of the United States) hinders the development of relations between the two countries." Putin believes that the United States must begin to respect other countries and seek compromises rather than impose sanctions before it can begin to improve relations. Putin said that Russia does not refuse to use the dollar, but has begun to control the issue of settlements between the dollar and the euro. As of September this year, the ruble's share of Russia's foreign ** increased to 40%, the yuan to 33%, and the dollar and the euro to 24%.
Putin said that the normalization of relations with the EU does not depend only on the Russian side, "it is not that we are destroying normal relations, but that they are trying to squeeze us out." In particular, Putin mentioned that he had a good working relationship with the French ** Macron, "we are ready to continue contacts with the French side, but from a certain point the French ** himself terminated this relationship." If [the French] are interested, then we are ready to meet, and if we are not interested, we don't care."
"I can eat 10 eggs in the morning".
Regarding the economic situation in Russia, Putin said at a press conference that Russia has withstood the pressure due to the high degree of social integration and the stability of the country's financial system. Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 35% to get out of the doldrums. The processing industry is expected to grow by 75%, and the unemployment rate fell to 2 for the first time9%, and inflation could reach 75% to 8%. Putin said that Russia's financial system remains stable, the state debt is on a downward trend, the size of Russia's state external debt has dropped from $46 billion to $32 billion, and investment in fixed assets has increased by 10 percent. In addition, Russian corporate profits have increased by 24%, and real wages of residents are expected to grow by 8%. Putin said: "3.5% is a good indicator, and it means that we have recovered from last year's ** and we have taken a big step forward. ”
At the press conference, Putin apologized for the Russian eggs, he said that the market demand for eggs has increased, but the production has not kept up, and the import has not been opened in time, which is a mistake in the work. Putin said he was very fond of eggs, "when I could eat 10 at once in the morning." The Russian news agency said on the 14th that since the beginning of this year, there have been 36 eggs in the country54%。According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture said on the 13th that it expects eggs to stabilize next month.
Global Times