7 Annual Big Press Conference Part 14
February 14,2008
President of Russia V.Putin
The Kremlin,Moscow
JOURNALIST FROM THE GERMAN MEDIA: How will Russia react if Kosovo declares its independence? What line will you take in the Security Council and will you vote against independence?
Another question: there are no surprises in Russias election campaign, no competition between ideas. The most important candidate is not taking part in television debates or holding big press conferences. Do you think this is a democratic election campaign?
VLADIMIR PUTIN: We think that to support a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo is amoral and against the law. Territorial integrity is one of the fundamental principles of international law. The Security Council has issued Resolution 1244, which speaks of Serbias territorial integrity, and all UN members must respect this resolution.
I do not want to offend anyone, but all the same, if we really raise this issue, there has been a de facto independent Republic of Northern Cyprus for 40 years now. Why dont you recognise it? Are you Europeans not ashamed to apply double standards in settling one and the same issue in different parts of the world? Here in this region we have Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Trans-Dniester that exist as independent states. We are always being told that Kosovo is a special case. This is all lies. There is nothing so special about Kosovo and everyone knows this full well. It is the exactly the same situation of an ethnic conflict, crimes committed on both sides and complete de facto independence. We need to decide on a common set of principles for resolving such issues. We are not driving the situation into a dead end. We are proposing to our partners that we draw up a common code of conduct on such matters. Why should we encourage separatism? There are people in Spain who do not want to live together in the same state, why not go and support them? Britain has been fighting for its territorial integrity for four hundred years now in Northern Ireland. Why are you not supporting the Irish?
There have to be common standards. If we act only out of political expediency and serve only the political interests of particular countries we will undermine international law and the general order. Even the arms race is fuelled today by the fact that small countries do not feel themselves safe now. International law does not protect small countries interests and they are forced to seek protection by acquiring the latest weapons. If there was firmly established order there would not be this fear and this need. Of course we will raise this issue in the United Nations Security Council.
As far as the election campaign is concerned I think it is going ahead without problem. The fact that the campaign is a calm one without all of these debates and commotion inside the country is not a sign that democratic procedures are lacking here but shows instead that most citizens of our country support the course we have followed over these last years. This explains why the election campaign is relatively quiet.
In Germany, as far as I understand the situation, the left-wing parties have seen a rise in their influence of late. The recent elections in Hesse and Lower Saxony support this. Furthermore, forecasts predict that the left-wing parties, including the former Communists, look set to increase their number of seats in the elections to the Bundestag in 2009. What does all of this suggest? It signals a reaction by the public to economic and domestic political events. Overall, I view positively what is happening in the German economy and think that balanced and responsible decisions are being made. Germanys political leadership is thinking about the countrys future and is, I think, consciously taking what are perhaps not very popular decisions. These decisions have an impact on the political sentiment among the public. Here, the public is also reacting to political decisions, but in a different way. Wages in Russia grew by more than 16 percent over the last year. This is the answer to your question. People want this development to continue and they see that Dmitry Medvedev is perhaps one person who can guarantee that this course will be maintained. Why should he take part in debates and discuss problems with opponents who will, to all appearances, be set on taking a clearly populist line? Have we not had the opportunity to tell our citizens what we have done and what we plan to do? Essentially, we have said all there is to say. As for the people who are competing against us, they now have every opportunity to tell the voters about themselves and present their programmes as clearly and vividly as they can. Our countrys laws, the Constitution and the election laws are all being respected in full.
Loading...
9:40
7 Ежегодная большая пресс-конференция Part 15 В.Путин (Putin)by niknikolay1,632 views
Link to this comment:
Video Responses
All Comments (0)