President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good evening. What is your question?
Question: Good evening, Mr President.
Olga Knyazeva, Channel One.
Your state visit to Kazakhstan is drawing to an end. You were welcomed everywhere at the top level. What is your take on the cooperation prospects?
Vladimir Putin: Alright. Kazakhstan, as you heard me say it many times, is more than our ally and reliable partner. Importantly, Kazakhstan is making great strides under the leadership of President Tokayev, and demonstrating stable and robust growth. The sociopolitical situation in the country is stable, which is crucial for planning work in the economic sphere and investing.
We have billions invested in the economy of Kazakhstan. I mentioned earlier that mutual trade amounts to nearly 30 billion and keeps growing. Our traditional areas of cooperation include space exploration, energy, and, now, advanced technologies. Energy projects may see expanded cooperation in nuclear energy, since we are already working on it as a team. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest producer of uranium, and we have established our presence at uranium deposits in Kazakhstan. We have good prospects in the manufacturing sector, especially in the cooperation area.
Payments were and still are a problem, but we now have over 80 percent of payments made in national currencies, which, of course, makes our work in the financial sphere easier.
On top of everything else, we also maintain humanitarian ties, and enjoy very good people-to-people contacts. Kazakhstan is practically a Russian-speaking country, which you have probably had a chance to see for yourself. Unfortunately, there are always many people out there with their own opinions on how things should be done, and who criticise the ongoing processes in Russian and Kazakhstani societies. This position and this criticism are not always consistent with the national interests, including the interests of the Russian state. It is not always good for us. I believe we should do our best to strengthen our ties. By no means should we take steps that may destroy our relations.
For example, we enjoy traditional ties in the energy sector. Still, we may have major projects coming up in the sphere of transporting our energy to third countries across the territory of Kazakhstan. Here, we have a traditional situation where one region of Kazakhstan may experience natural gas shortages, while other regions may have excess supplies of it. Therefore, we find it makes more economic sense to join efforts and to supply something to Kazakhstan, to receive something from Kazakhstan, given the fairly large territories of Kazakhstan and Russia, than to develop it within our own borders. That makes us natural partners and allies.
My assessment is that we have very promising prospects. Yesterday, President Tokayev and I spend the entire evening discussing these prospects informally over dinner. To reiterate, I assess them as highly positive.
Question: Good afternoon. Alexei Golovko, Rossiya television channel.
You have mentioned uranium earlier. Still, Kazakhstan held a referendum this October, and the overwhelming majority of the voters were in favour of building a nuclear power plant. As far as we know, they have not decided on the contractor yet. Did you discuss this particular issue with Mr Tokayev? Perhaps, you have highlighted the advantages Rosatom has to offer? Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course. We paid quite a lot of attention to it during the talks yesterday, both during the restricted-format and the expanded-format talks. If Kazakhstan decides to go ahead with its nuclear power projects, then, of course, as any customer, it can choose the most suitable technological solution and financial arrangements.
I think it is no coincidence that the Russian company Rosatom is the world’s largest company of its kind, including in terms of the number of nuclear power plants it is building around the world. Why is that? It is because, as I have said many times, we are not just building power plants. As a rule, we create an industry in a country that initiates this type of activity. We train personnel, supply the necessary materials, take away spent fuel and so on. We help advance science in the nuclear sphere.
Of course, the President of Kazakhstan and our Kazakhstani colleagues and friends are familiar with this type of activity. They are not starting from scratch. To reiterate, we even have enterprises – they have uranium mining enterprises – which are operating in this area. They are well aware of what they want and what they are willing to pay for it, and what they want to get. That is why we are having a very professional dialogue. Should our partners, in this case, Kazakhstan, need or prefer to use some solutions, including technological solutions from third countries, and involve their specialists into the collaborative effort, this is also possible, and Rosatom has experiences of cooperating with foreign partners. We discussed this yesterday as well.
The customer always has the final say. But I think our cooperation with Kazakhstan in this area is quite possible. It would be really strange for Kazakhstan, which has the world’s largest uranium deposits, not to use uranium, but only mine and export it. The leadership of Kazakhstan is operating on this premise
In addition to everything else, it is probably no coincidence that Rosatom is currently operating in 20 countries, I think, or building 20 facilities abroad. It owns advanced technologies and the world’s best safety standards, which fact is confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Organisation, the IAEA.
Please go ahead.
Question: Nikita Korzun, NTV.
Mr President, how do you assess the current state of the CSTO, following today’s summit? Is the organisation dead or alive? And what do you think of Armenia’s “skipping” it?
Vladimir Putin: As for the CSTO as an organisation, it is definitely not only alive, but alive and progressing, with all countries that take an active part in its work willing to maintain these contacts now and in the future.
The global situation is complicated, and not only due to the developments unfolding at the Ukraine theatre. Are things just fine in Asia? Do developments on the Commonwealth border with Afghanistan give us a chance to relax and ignore anything?
Afghanistan is undergoing challenging processes. We hope that we will be able to build up relations with Afghanistan and we cannot fail to notice that the situation is becoming more stable there. We maintain relations with the current leadership of Afghanistan, and they will keep advancing. Recently, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu visited Afghanistan and reported to me on the outcomes. However, the situation is still difficult and requires special care and attention from us, including through the CSTO.
The CSTO is engaged not only in military matters but also in fighting organised crime, drug trafficking, and other issues. This means the CSTO has much to attend to, and the member countries have a stake in it. This is the first point.
And now regarding Armenia. Each country is entitled to choose what and how it wants to do with regard to ensuring its security. I think today’s situation between Armenia and the CSTO is most likely caused by internal political processes in Armenia. It is also linked with the aftermath of the Karabakh crisis, without doubt. But I would like to stress that the CSTO has nothing to do with it, you see? I repeatedly said about that. Everything that was happening in this respect had nothing to do with the CSTO because Armenia did not suffer from any external aggression.
The CSTO is designed to protect its member countries from external aggression. The Karabakh case is very special since Armenia had not recognised Karabakh’s independence and definitely had not included it into its sovereign territory. Thus from the legal point of view, the events in Nagorny Karabakh were not directly connected with Armenia. Therefore, claims that the CSTO should have fought on the territory of the enclave sound somewhat odd, don’t they? Of course, they do.
Nevertheless, it is a very sensitive issue. It is always easy to judge from the outside. Things are always much more complicated inside. I repeat: I think that any country, a member of the organisation, should independently identify its national interests. And we will treat it with respect. That’s my first point. And secondly, Armenia has not announced it has withdrawn. At least not yet. It has said that it is taking a pause, but at the same time it supports all the documents that are endorsed during our today’s meeting, during today’s session of negotiations, and draws our attention exactly to that. If this is true, it means that there is a possibility that Armenia will reinstall its full-fledged format within this organisation. We will see.
I reiterate: the final decision will be made by the country – member of the organisation.
Question: Alyona Nefyodova, Izvestia newspaper.
Mr President, during a recent narrow-format meeting, you mentioned that Moscow has responded to the ongoing usage of US missiles for attacks on Russian territory.
Vladimir Putin: Indeed, twice following the Oreshnik response. Subsequently, ATACMS were employed twice more in the Kursk Region. Although the damage is minimal, the mere fact of their usage, of course, cannot be overlooked, particularly as there has been some damage inflicted.
Question: Simultaneously, you underlined that Moscow is prepared to counter further escalation from the West.
Vladimir Putin: Precisely, and I not only emphasised this, but also stated that we took action last night.
Question: In light of this, my question pertains to the measures Russia is ready to implement. In your view, are there ongoing risks associated with the Western missiles being used against Russian territory?
Vladimir Putin: Well, that is a question for the West, whether they intend to persist with these actions. Are there risks involved in strikes on Russian territory? Undoubtedly, as I have reiterated on numerous occasions. These actions denote the direct involvement of Western nations in an armed conflict. How could it be perceived otherwise? If their experts are orchestrating flight plans, relaying intelligence to themselves, and coordinating strikes on targets within the Russian Federation, then of course, such risks exist.
I indicated that they received a response today. Our Armed Forces have been executing retaliatory strikes over the past couple of days. Today, there was a comprehensive operation: 90 missiles were deployed alongside 100 unmanned strike vehicles. Seventeen targets within Ukraine were struck, encompassing military, military-industrial, and auxiliary facilities that support the armed forces and industrial defence enterprises.
I wish to reiterate once more: we will certainly respond to such acts of aggression against the Russian Federation. The timing, methods, and weapons employed will be determined by the General Staff of the Ministry of Defence, as each target necessitates a specific approach and appropriate weaponry.
For instance, it would be futile to target a minor objective with a hypersonic missile, akin to “using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.” However, we will utilise our entire arsenal against significant targets. As I have previously mentioned, we do not rule out the combat employment of Oreshnik on military-industrial facilities or command centres, including those in Kiev. We remain cognisant that the Kiev authorities continue their attempts to target our critical assets, including those in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
Question: Good afternoon. Pavel Zarubin, Rossiya TV channel.
You have already provided extensive information about Oreshnik today, yet Western media assert that the warhead of the Oreshnik lacked explosives. If this is accurate, what implications does it have?
Could you share any additional details regarding Oreshnik? Furthermore, how many such classified developments do we generally possess, as you mentioned, “on the menu that will satisfy the client?” Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: You see, when I mentioned that we are conducting test launches, it indicates that this endeavour is focused, among other objectives, on enhancing these weapons. That is indeed the case.
Concerning strike capabilities, I have already addressed this. If we deploy multiple such systems simultaneously in a single strike – say, two, three, or four systems – it would be comparable in force to the use of nuclear weapons, albeit they are not nuclear. This is because they are: a) high-precision; b) not equipped with a nuclear explosive device, thus they do not cause environmental contamination. Yet, the force would be comparable.
Regarding the presence of explosives, I reiterate: this is why testing is conducted, to determine what requires further development. There is no great secret here; experts will readily grasp what I am referring to. When I speak of improvement, it primarily concerns the balance between range and warhead.
The greater the range, the smaller the warhead; conversely, the shorter the range, the more potent the warhead. The system is capable of lifting a greater payload in this scenario, that’s the crux of it. For targets at varying distances, different missile types are required, or at least, distinct configurations of these missiles, specifically the warhead equipment. This is an area requiring attention. It is not a straightforward task, and it will likely necessitate additional research and development work, etc.
As for the missile we utilised, the appropriate elements were employed as the impact components, and they serve as damage agents as well. As I have mentioned, these are quite potent elements that are heated to a temperature of 4,000 degrees. If I am not mistaken, (you can check online), the surface of the Sun is approximately 5,600–6,000 degrees, making it comparable to solar surface temperatures.
A kinetic impact is a formidable force, akin to a meteorite impact. History has shown us the effects and consequences of meteorite impacts. They have been sufficient to create entire lakes, have they not? Consider the Tunguska event and its outcomes.
Similarly here, the damage is substantial: everything at the centre is reduced to ash, breaking down into its elemental components, and objects located at a depth of three or four, possibly even more, floors below are affected. These are fortified structures, not merely floors. The impact force is immense. Of course, more can be added to amplify the effect. The key point is that the functional sample has been created, it functions as intended by its designers. It is a high-precision and high-power weapon.
Question: Are there other similar developments underway?
Vladimir Putin: I won’t disclose everything to you.
We only revealed information about Oreshnik after it underwent testing. We waited until this test was completed and, to be candid, until we observed the outcome. Only then did we make an announcement. This is a situation where discretion is warranted.
Yes, please.
To be continued.