President Vladimir Putin (addressing Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin): You are going to the G-8 meeting? What issues will you be discussing there?
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin: The G-8 finance ministers will be holding a big meeting at the end of this week in Washington, and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will be holding their annual autumn meetings. The issues at the centre of attention will be the development of the global economy, including the issues of energy security and energy supplies for major regions and growing economies. We will also be examining support for the poorest countries and reaching the millennium goals in the areas of reducing poverty and developing education. There are a number of initiatives on these issues that await a final decision. This also includes the British initiatives and those put forward during Britain’s presidency [at the G-8].
But most importantly, we will also be taking the relay regarding the organisation of the G-8’s financial meetings next year, and so this is a very important meeting for Russia.
Vladimir Putin (addressing Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov): You are set to travel to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. What do you have planned there?
Sergei Ivanov: I will be making a working visit to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on September 20–23. In Kyrgyzstan I will be meeting with the country’s military and political leadership to discuss military and military-technical cooperation within the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the CIS.
We also plan to sign a contract between the Russian and Kyrgyzstan defence ministries on providing military-technical aid worth several million dollars to Kyrgyzstan this year. The budget for this year has made provisions for this sum, Kyrgyzstan has already made its arms and military equipment needs known and the corresponding deliveries should be made for this amount by the end of the year.
Vladimir Putin: As I understand it, we are talking about equipping the military units there that will be primarily combating the terrorist threat?
Sergei Ivanov: That is exactly right. We will be providing helicopters, guns – the equipment needed above all for this purpose.
Vladimir Putin: We all remember the problems encountered back when large armed groups crossed from Afghanistan into Kyrgyz territory.
Sergei Ivanov: Kyrgyzstan’s army was not entirely prepared at that time, but we are working on overcoming those problems now. This is support that we are providing in addition to the fact that we are making regular deliveries of arms to Kyrgyzstan at domestic Russian prices, as was agreed at the CSTO summit, and are providing training free of charge – a programme that has already begun. In other words, we are providing support through three different channels.
While I am in Kyrgyzstan I also want to check in person how the installation and development of our air-force base at Kant is going.
Regarding Uzbekistan, we will sign a bilateral agreement on flight security for civil aircraft between Russia and Uzbekistan. Probably most important of all is that we will be holding joint Russian-Uzbek military exercises at the mountain test ground of Farish for the first time in our recent history. The test ground is well equipped and the exercises will involve approximately 200 people from each country. On the Russian side, airborne troops from the 76th Division and GRU (Chief Intelligence Directorate) special-purpose units will be taking part.
Vladimir Putin: All the plans have been approved? By the way, what is the situation with contacts between the CSTO and NATO?
Sergei Ivanov: I was last in Berlin at an informal meeting of the NATO and Russian defence ministers. I raised the question there of the serious threat that drugs trafficking from Afghanistan represents for Russia and for our western-European partners. Our NATO partners take this threat very seriously and have expressed the wish to work more closely together in taking action against this particular challenge. The elections that have just taken place in Afghanistan do not take this problem off the agenda. The amount of pure heroin produced there is increasing and this year will see 500 tons delivered, if I can put it in these terms, to the markets of Russia and practically all of Europe. Our partners therefore approved the proposal to organise a briefing at the headquarters in Brussels before the end of the year, at which we will detail the plans we are currently working on with regards to ensuring security in this area. This includes making use of the Interior Ministry’s possibilities in combating drugs trafficking, including through providing training for personnel, Afghan personnel, in this area.
Vladimir Putin: Not just the Interior Ministry, but above all also the services specialised in combating drugs trafficking.
Sergei Ivanov: Yes, of course, and the Federal Drugs Control Agency.
Vladimir Putin: So we can say that contacts are getting underway at a practical level.
Sergei Ivanov: Yes, at a practical level.
Vladimir Putin: Between the CSTO and NATO,
Sergei Ivanov: These contacts will be going ahead in Brussels by the end of the year.
Vladimir Putin: Good. Thank you.