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Good afternoon,

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Allow me to skip any statements and monologues.

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You have seen and heard everything,

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a great deal. Let us get straight to questions.

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Go ahead, please.

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Mr President, both experts and ordinary people,

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some of whom are rampaging near this building now,

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are known to have different opinions on the usefulness of G20 summits.

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At this summit, for example, there was more talk about your 

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meeting with Mr Trump.

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And yet which of the issues discussed by the G20 is most 

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relevant for Russia? Thank you.

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G20 is primarily an economic forum,

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even though many political and similar issues emerge.

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Nevertheless, the main issue is the development of the global economy,

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and this is what received the greatest attention.

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We agreed on determining global economy sustainability principles,

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and this is vitally important for working along the same standards.

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Then we continued with the issue which in fact had been launched in St 

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Petersburg: money laundering and everything connected with 

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tax havens and tax evasion.

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It is a crucial matter with practical implications.

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Next, no less important and also connected with the economy,

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a related but very important issue –

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the fight against terror, tracking money flows to prevent 

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the funding of terrorism.

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Finally, a very big and very sensitive issue is climate change.

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I think in this respect the Federal Republic of Germany chairing 

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the G20 has managed to reach the best compromise in a difficult 

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situation the chairing nation has found itself in,

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namely due to the US quitting the Paris Climate Agreement.

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An agreement was reached, a compromise,

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when all the countries have recorded that the United States pulled out 

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of the agreement but they are ready to continue cooperating in certain 

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areas and with certain countries on addressing climate change 

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challenges. I think this is a positive result in itself,

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which can be credited to Chancellor Merkel.

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There are other issues we looked into. For example,

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digital economy. Here we proposed adopting common rules in the area 

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of digital economy, defining cyber security and designing 

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a comprehensive system of behaviour rules in this sphere.

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We said today – the President of the South African Republic spoke very 

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convincingly about it; in fact,

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this issue was touched upon in practically everyone’s speech 

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and in some way it is reflected in the final documents –

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that we must be ready for the release of the labour force,

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we must make joint efforts, we must figure out what should be done with 

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the workers who have lost their jobs, how to arrange retraining,

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what the deadlines are and what rules should be put in place.

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Among other things I drew attention to the fact that trade unions will 

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have to be engaged because they will protect not only the workers but 

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also the self-employed individuals operating in the digital economy,

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and the number of such jobs is increasing.

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This is connected in one way or another with women’s rights 

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and education for girls.

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This is being discussed at many forums but we talked about it today 

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in the context of digital economy.

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Overall, this forum is definitely effective,

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and I believe it will play a role in stabilising the global 

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economy in general.

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Mr President, I would like to follow up on my colleague’s topic.

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Even though there were many political issues at the summit,

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they keep on surfacing at the G20 summits more and more often,

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yet you listed economic issues,

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which remain the priority anyway.

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Many speakers, ministers from different countries responsible 

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for the economy, said that 2017 could become the year 

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of global economic growth.

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How feasible is that and will this growth be seen in Russia in view 

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of the current unfavourable trends –

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sanctions, restrictions and other factors?

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We have not seen any unfavourable trends so far,

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or they have almost disappeared at any rate.

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Certain factors are having a negative impact on economic development,

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including in the global economy,

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the economy in the Euro zone and in Russia,

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those same illegitimate restrictions you have mentioned.

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We call for lifting any restrictions, for free trade,

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for working within the World Trade Organisation,

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in line the WTO rules.

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By the way, one of the topics discussed here was free trade 

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and countering protectionism.

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This is also one of the crucial areas that should be mentioned.

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On the whole, there is some progress.

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However, the initial optimistic growth forecasts have been downgraded.

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Nevertheless, there is growth, and it is apparent, including in Russia.

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I said recently and repeated it here that Russian economic growth is 

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tangible, the Russian economy, and we can say this with certainty,

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has recovered from the recession.

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We have been growing for the third quarter in a row,

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and soon it will be the fourth quarter in a row.

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Growth exceeded 3 percent in May: it was 3.1 percent.

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I think we will have an average of 2 percent in 2017.

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This is also a significant contribution to the global economic growth.

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Let me remind you that we also have low unemployment of 5.

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2 percent, our reserves are growing,

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including the reserves of the Central Bank and the Government.

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The Central Bank reserves have already reached $412 billion.

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The federal budget revenues grew by 40 percent,

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and all this is happening against the background of fairly 

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low inflation of 4.4 percent.

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All this taken together certainly gives us optimism;

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however, one cannot say with certainty that this is a long-term trend.

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We must take care to sustain this growth trend.

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I have every reason to believe that we will manage to do it.

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Mr President, your meeting with President Trump was literally the focus 

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of everyone's attention at the summit.

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How do you access the results of this meeting? It is no secret that US 

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President had voiced a rather tough rhetoric in Poland,

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and there had even been unfriendly statements from US media 

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in the run-up to the summit.

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Did Mr Trump ask you directly about Russia's interference in the US 

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[presidential] election? Did you like him personally? Do 

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you think you will get along?

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The US President asked me this question directly,

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and we discussed it. And this was not a single question,

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there were many, and he gave much attention to this issue.

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Russia's stance is well-known and I reiterated it.

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There is no reason to believe that Russia interfered 

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in the US election process.

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But what is important is that we have agreed that there should not be 

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any uncertainty in this sphere,

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especially in the future.

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By the way, I mentioned at the latest summit session that this directly 

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concerns cyberspace, web resources and so on.

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The US President and I have agreed to establish a working group 

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and make joint efforts to monitor security in the cyberspace,

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ensure full compliance with international laws in this area,

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and to prevent interference in countries' internal affairs.

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Primarily this concerns Russia and the United States.

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We believe that if we succeed in organising this work –

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and I have no doubt that we will –

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there will be no more speculation over this matter.

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As regards personal relations, I believe that they have been 

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established. This is how I see it: Mr Trump's television image is very 

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different from the real person;

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he is a very down to earth and direct person,

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and he has an absolutely adequate attitude towards the person he is 

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talking with; he analyses things pretty fast and answers the questions 

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he is asked or new ones that arise in the course of the discussion.

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So I think that if we build our relations in the vein of our 

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yesterday's meeting, there are good reasons to believe that we will be 

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able to revive, at least partially,

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the level of interaction that we need.

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To follow up on of your answer,

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could you please say if President Trump has accepted your denial 

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of Russia’s involvement, Russia’s interference in the US election?

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I repeat, he asked many question on this matter.

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I answered all of his questions as far as I could.

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I think he took note and agreed.

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But it would be better if you asked him about what he thinks about it.

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One more question about the domestic policy,

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if I may. Actually, it is unrelated to the G20 but the question is 

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about Russia’s domestic policy.

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I would like to ask what you think of Alexei Navalny and his 

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activities. And why you do not say his name and surname 

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when you answer questions about him.

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I think we can engage in dialogue,

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especially at the level of the President or the Government,

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with the people who propose a constructive agenda,

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even if they voice criticism.

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But if the point is to attract publicity,

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this does not encourage dialogue.

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Earlier this morning you had a meeting with the French President 

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and the German Chancellor.

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I assume you had an in-depth discussion on the situation in Ukraine.

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Did a new vision emerge, and is there any hope that Donbass will come 

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out of the ordeal gripping it right now? Can the discussion 

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of the issue launched with the US President play its role,

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or do the interests of Russia and the United States still diverge 

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in Ukraine, or may be even oppose each other in some matters? Which,

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by the way, can be presumed from the background of the US 

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diplomat who was appointed special envoy.

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The interests of Russia and Ukraine,

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the interests of the Russian and Ukraine people –

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and I am fully and profoundly confident of this –

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coincide. Our interests fully coincide.

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The only thing that does not coincide is the interests of the current 

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Ukrainian authorities and some of Ukraine's political circles.

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If we are to be objective, of course,

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both Ukraine and Russia are interested in cooperating with each other,

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joining their competitive advantages and developing their economies 

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just because we have inherited much from the Soviet era –

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I am speaking about cooperation,

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the unified infrastructure and the energy industry,

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transport, and so on.

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But regrettably, today our Ukrainian colleagues believe 

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this can be neglected.

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They have only one ”product“ left –

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Russophobia, and they are selling it successfully.

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Another thing they are selling is the policy of dividing Russia 

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and Ukraine and pulling the two peoples and two nations apart.

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Some in the West like this; they believe that Russia and Ukraine must 

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not be allowed to get closer in any areas.

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That is why the current Ukrainian authorities are making active 

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and successful efforts to sell this ”product.“

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But I think this will eventually come to an end.

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Russia, at any rate, wants for this situation to be over 

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as soon as possible.

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As regards the United States' involvement in settling the situation 

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in Ukraine, President Trump and I have talked about this and we 

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agreed – and actually, this has already been done –

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that a special representative of the administration would be appointed 

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to handle this issue on a permanent basis and to be in constant contact 

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both with Russia and Ukraine, with all the parties 

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interested in settling this conflict.

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Mr President, I have a question about the Middle East,

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which is seething at the moment: Syria,

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Qatar and other countries.

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You must have had discussions on Syria at the G20 Summit.

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How do you assess the prospects for the Syrian settlement after those 

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discussions and after the recent meeting in Astana? Has the stance 

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of the new US Administration on this issue changed or become more 

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constructive, especially in view of yesterday’s agreements?

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And also about Qatar, if I may.

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How do you assess the situation? Was it discussed at the G20 Summit?

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And one more question, if I may…

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I will have to make a full report to you. (Laughter.)

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Well, one does not often get this chance.

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On the terrorism issue: as far as I know,

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agreeing on the Statement on Countering Terrorism was 

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a difficult process. If it is not a secret,

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what were the major contradictions?

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To be honest, I am not aware of the difficulties,

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you had better ask the Sherpa.

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In my view, there were no basic objections from anyone.

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Maybe some of the wording. But, to be honest,

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I am not aware of that. I know that the text was agreed on.

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At any rate, at the level of delegation heads, heads of state,

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there were no problems or tensions.

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00:16:21.296 --> 00:16:27.014
Everyone admits that this is a common threat and everyone states their 

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00:16:27.014 --> 00:16:29.384
readiness to fight this threat.

233
00:16:29.404 --> 00:16:34.211
As for Qatar, the problem was not discussed.

234
00:16:34.211 --> 00:16:37.368
It is a fairly burning regional issue,

235
00:16:37.368 --> 00:16:41.942
and can impact certain processes, by the way, including in the economy,

236
00:16:41.942 --> 00:16:46.849
in the energy area and in terms of security in the region,

237
00:16:46.849 --> 00:16:51.302
but I did not discuss this issue with anybody during the Summit.

238
00:16:51.302 --> 00:16:57.775
About Syria. Yes, we discussed this issue with almost all 

239
00:16:57.775 --> 00:17:02.489
of my interlocutors. As for whether the US stance has changed or not –

240
00:17:02.489 --> 00:17:05.366
I would say it has become more pragmatic.

241
00:17:05.366 --> 00:17:11.299
It does not seem to have changed in general,

242
00:17:11.299 --> 00:17:16.495
but there is an understanding now that by combining 

243
00:17:16.495 --> 00:17:18.277
efforts, we can achieve a lot.

244
00:17:18.277 --> 00:17:22.526
Yesterday's deal on the southern de-escalation zone is 

245
00:17:22.526 --> 00:17:24.303
clearly the result of this change.

246
00:17:24.303 --> 00:17:29.361
You know, others may react as they like, but I can tell you,

247
00:17:29.361 --> 00:17:34.070
this is one of the breakthroughs we have made in our work 

248
00:17:34.070 --> 00:17:38.421
with President Trump.

249
00:17:38.421 --> 00:17:41.991
This is a real result of cooperation,

250
00:17:41.991 --> 00:17:44.003
including with the United States.

251
00:17:44.003 --> 00:17:48.334
Jordan has joined in the effort,

252
00:17:48.334 --> 00:17:50.390
and so have several other countries in the region.

253
00:17:50.390 --> 00:17:54.886
We have held consultations with Israel and will continue 

254
00:17:54.886 --> 00:17:56.686
them in the near future.

255
00:17:56.686 --> 00:17:59.549
Still, this is a very good result,

256
00:17:59.549 --> 00:18:01.654
a breakthrough of a kind.

257
00:18:01.654 --> 00:18:05.924
Therefore, if we move the same way in other directions,

258
00:18:05.924 --> 00:18:07.548
towards other de-escalation areas…

259
00:18:07.548 --> 00:18:12.021
We have discussed this very thoroughly with the President 

260
00:18:12.021 --> 00:18:17.422
of Turkey today. This does not entirely depend on us, of course,

261
00:18:17.422 --> 00:18:20.909
as much has to do with the controversy between 

262
00:18:20.909 --> 00:18:22.693
the countries in the region.

263
00:18:22.693 --> 00:18:28.460
Everyone has their own concerns, everyone has their own preferences,

264
00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:32.601
their own interests, I mean legitimate interests,

265
00:18:32.601 --> 00:18:36.921
so this is the way we must treat these – as their legitimate interests;

266
00:18:36.921 --> 00:18:38.711
we need to look for compromises.

267
00:18:38.711 --> 00:18:42.069
You know, sometimes we find them.

268
00:18:42.069 --> 00:18:46.201
In any case, the fact that active military operations have ceased,

269
00:18:46.201 --> 00:18:50.729
the fact that we are now discussing de-escalation zones is 

270
00:18:50.729 --> 00:18:53.867
a huge step forward.

271
00:18:53.867 --> 00:19:01.634
Now we need to agree on the exact boundaries of these zones,

272
00:19:01.634 --> 00:19:05.909
and how security will be ensured there.

273
00:19:05.909 --> 00:19:11.517
This is a painstaking, even tedious effort,

274
00:19:11.517 --> 00:19:15.049
and it is extremely important and responsible work.

275
00:19:15.049 --> 00:19:20.859
Based on the recent positive experience,

276
00:19:20.859 --> 00:19:25.841
relying on the good will of Iran, Turkey, and of course,

277
00:19:25.841 --> 00:19:32.447
the Syrian Government and President al-Assad, we can take further steps.

278
00:19:32.447 --> 00:19:37.191
The most important thing is – we have actually reaffirmed this,

279
00:19:37.211 --> 00:19:42.814
also in the documents establishing this zone in the south on the border 

280
00:19:42.814 --> 00:19:49.937
with Jordan, and the area that borders on the Golan Heights –

281
00:19:49.937 --> 00:19:54.772
the most important thing is to ensure Syria’s territorial integrity,

282
00:19:54.772 --> 00:19:58.950
eventually, so that these de-escalation zones become the prototype 

283
00:19:58.950 --> 00:20:03.479
of regions that could cooperate with each other and with 

284
00:20:03.479 --> 00:20:06.083
the official Damascus.

285
00:20:06.083 --> 00:20:11.739
If we manage to do this, we will lay the groundwork,

286
00:20:11.739 --> 00:20:16.076
create the prerequisites for resolving the entire Syrian 

287
00:20:16.076 --> 00:20:18.852
problem by political means.

288
00:20:18.852 --> 00:20:31.611
We have already talked about interfering in the elections but we have 

289
00:20:31.611 --> 00:20:34.578
new elections coming up in Germany.

290
00:20:34.578 --> 00:20:35.572
Here in Germany?

291
00:20:35.572 --> 00:20:39.698
These days we say “we have elections in Germany” in September.

292
00:20:39.698 --> 00:20:45.016
Is Russia planning to interfere in them? Did you notify Angela Merkel 

293
00:20:45.016 --> 00:20:46.280
about how we are going to do it? Maybe you will give me a hunch 

294
00:20:46.280 --> 00:20:47.752
as well? (Laughter in the audience.)

295
00:20:47.752 --> 00:20:51.539
You are asking rather provocative questions.

296
00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:56.930
But I told you that we had not interfered in the United States either.

297
00:20:56.930 --> 00:20:58.302
Why should we make trouble here as well? We have very good relations 

298
00:20:58.302 --> 00:20:59.557
with the Federal Republic.

299
00:20:59.557 --> 00:21:05.632
It is our largest trade and economic partner in Europe country-wise,

300
00:21:05.632 --> 00:21:09.327
one of our leading trade partners in the world.

301
00:21:09.327 --> 00:21:14.320
We have large joint projects on the agenda that we support,

302
00:21:14.320 --> 00:21:16.465
for example, Nord Stream 2.

303
00:21:16.465 --> 00:21:20.806
There are a lot of tales being told about it,

304
00:21:20.806 --> 00:21:27.559
arguments and even resistance but it is absolutely evident that it is 

305
00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:32.135
in the interests of the European economy and in the interests 

306
00:21:32.135 --> 00:21:34.648
of the German economy, which wants to abandon nuclear power.

307
00:21:34.648 --> 00:21:39.816
Why would we do it? Interfering in domestic political processes is 

308
00:21:39.816 --> 00:21:42.186
the last thing we would wish to do.

309
00:21:42.186 --> 00:21:48.455
If you look at the press, the German press or the European press 

310
00:21:48.455 --> 00:21:51.483
in general, the French press, it is they who keep 

311
00:21:51.483 --> 00:21:53.123
on interfering in our domestic affairs.

312
00:21:53.123 --> 00:21:59.044
But we are not concerned about it because we feel confident.

313
00:21:59.044 --> 00:22:09.143
Thank you very much, Mr President,

314
00:22:09.143 --> 00:22:11.416
for the opportunity to ask you a question on behalf 

315
00:22:11.416 --> 00:22:13.163
of my television network.

316
00:22:13.163 --> 00:22:18.110
We meant to ask you about your meeting with President Trump,

317
00:22:18.110 --> 00:22:20.493
but my colleague has already asked the same question.

318
00:22:20.493 --> 00:22:25.101
And you said we should ask President Trump about what had happened.

319
00:22:25.101 --> 00:22:27.520
No, I did not. You should ask him about how he sees it,

320
00:22:27.520 --> 00:22:28.287
what he thinks about my answers.

321
00:22:28.307 --> 00:22:32.475
As to what happened – nothing happened, we did not interfere.

322
00:22:32.475 --> 00:22:37.105
Unfortunately, the White House offers practically no 

323
00:22:37.105 --> 00:22:38.930
information about what is going on.

324
00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:42.498
We will give them a piece of our minds. (Laughter.)

325
00:22:42.498 --> 00:22:48.042
Could you just share what President Trump said during your meeting when 

326
00:22:48.042 --> 00:22:49.914
you told him that Russia had not interfered in the political process?

327
00:22:49.914 --> 00:22:52.423
He started asking probing questions,

328
00:22:52.423 --> 00:22:57.471
he was really interested in some details.

329
00:22:57.471 --> 00:23:03.117
I gave him fairly detailed answers as much as I could.

330
00:23:03.117 --> 00:23:08.354
I told him about my dialogues with the previous administration,

331
00:23:08.354 --> 00:23:11.681
including with President Obama.

332
00:23:11.681 --> 00:23:15.348
But I do not feel that I have the right to give details 

333
00:23:15.348 --> 00:23:17.425
of my conversations, say, with President Obama,

334
00:23:17.425 --> 00:23:22.544
it is not an accepted practice at this level.

335
00:23:22.544 --> 00:23:28.713
I think it would not be quite appropriate of me to give details of our 

336
00:23:28.713 --> 00:23:34.027
conversation with President Trump. He asked me and I answered him.

337
00:23:34.027 --> 00:23:37.190
He asked probing questions, and I offered explanations.

338
00:23:37.190 --> 00:23:40.869
I think he was satisfied with those answers.

339
00:23:40.869 --> 00:23:41.534
Thank you very much.

340
00:23:41.534 --> 00:23:43.574
You are welcome.

341
00:23:43.574 --> 00:23:54.791
Going back to the issue of boosting economic growth,

342
00:23:54.791 --> 00:23:56.801
to the measures that could be taken,

343
00:23:56.801 --> 00:24:01.113
the Government has already drafted a plan, and as far as we know,

344
00:24:01.113 --> 00:24:03.368
you have read it but for some reason the plan is classified.

345
00:24:03.368 --> 00:24:07.020
We know some parts of it from what you said about them.

346
00:24:07.020 --> 00:24:13.201
Let me explain. As you must know,

347
00:24:13.201 --> 00:24:20.312
we have several groups working on this issue: a group headed by Mr 

348
00:24:20.312 --> 00:24:23.735
Titov with the involvement of the business community,

349
00:24:23.735 --> 00:24:26.989
and a group headed by Mr Kudrin,

350
00:24:26.989 --> 00:24:30.279
who has gathered a large number of respected experts.

351
00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:32.131
The Government is also working.

352
00:24:32.131 --> 00:24:37.615
But we should make a plan that will be acceptable,

353
00:24:37.615 --> 00:24:45.401
optimal for the next steps to be taken in the economy starting in 2018.

354
00:24:45.401 --> 00:24:49.301
And we must review all the proposals,

355
00:24:49.301 --> 00:24:53.590
assess them and in the end, make the final decision.

356
00:24:53.590 --> 00:24:58.596
It may not be one of the proposals submitted;

357
00:24:58.596 --> 00:25:07.957
it may be something based on all three proposals.

358
00:25:07.957 --> 00:25:13.695
But work is currently underway, and we do not talk about it in advance.

359
00:25:13.695 --> 00:25:20.763
But the Government has certainly done a great deal in this area,

360
00:25:20.763 --> 00:25:26.430
and we will rely largely on the Government’s proposals.

361
00:25:26.430 --> 00:25:32.098
We cannot ignore the results of Mr Kudrin’s work,

362
00:25:32.098 --> 00:25:35.460
and Mr Titov also has some sensible suggestions.

363
00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:40.830
This is why we are working at present to decide what the final variant 

364
00:25:40.830 --> 00:25:42.690
will be out of the proposals for the development 

365
00:25:42.690 --> 00:25:44.531
of the Russian economy from 2018 onward.

366
00:25:44.531 --> 00:25:46.555
That is all. There are no secrets.

367
00:25:46.555 --> 00:25:52.226
What is the point? The point is that it is wrong to announce what has 

368
00:25:52.226 --> 00:25:53.185
not been adopted yet.

369
00:25:53.185 --> 00:25:56.110
We could just send the wrong signals to the economy,

370
00:25:56.110 --> 00:25:57.813
and that is it. It all comes down to that.

371
00:25:57.813 --> 00:26:08.181
I have a question about domestic policy.

372
00:26:08.181 --> 00:26:11.241
I have learned that you have been briefed on the [limo] car 

373
00:26:11.241 --> 00:26:16.030
of the Cortege project, which is to be used at the 2018 

374
00:26:16.030 --> 00:26:17.794
presidential inauguration.

375
00:26:17.794 --> 00:26:18.926
You seem to know this better than me: this is the first 

376
00:26:18.926 --> 00:26:20.152
time I have heard about it.

377
00:26:20.152 --> 00:26:25.586
Have you thought of going for a drive in this car at the official 

378
00:26:25.586 --> 00:26:26.694
event, that is, at the inauguration?

379
00:26:26.694 --> 00:26:29.097
No, I have not, because the car is not ready yet.

380
00:26:29.097 --> 00:26:34.515
You can go for a drive in it yourself, I will see how it goes,

381
00:26:34.515 --> 00:26:40.540
and later we can test it out together.

382
00:26:40.540 --> 00:26:58.124
You have spoken about the meeting with Mr Erdogan.

383
00:26:58.124 --> 00:27:01.790
Could you please elaborate – when you touched upon the issue 

384
00:27:01.790 --> 00:27:03.441
of the first zone, the northern one,

385
00:27:03.441 --> 00:27:08.064
did you discuss the issue of the Kurds and particularly the territory 

386
00:27:08.064 --> 00:27:10.416
of Afrin, where representatives of the Russian Centre 

387
00:27:10.416 --> 00:27:13.813
for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides are present? The Turkish media are 

388
00:27:13.813 --> 00:27:16.042
already preparing the ground for the Turkish army's 

389
00:27:16.042 --> 00:27:18.980
intervention to this area.

390
00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:24.638
Also, did you discuss the future of [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad 

391
00:27:24.638 --> 00:27:25.575
with Mr Trump and Mr Erdogan? For instance,

392
00:27:25.575 --> 00:27:28.294
Mr Tillerson said yesterday that this person has no future 

393
00:27:28.294 --> 00:27:29.297
in the Syrian politics.

394
00:27:29.297 --> 00:27:32.733
He did not say how and when, but that was what he said.

395
00:27:32.733 --> 00:27:36.013
Let me answer the second question first.

396
00:27:36.013 --> 00:27:39.019
Mr Tillerson is a well-regarded man,

397
00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:42.386
he received the Russian Order of Friendship,

398
00:27:42.386 --> 00:27:43.801
and we feel great respect for him and we like him.

399
00:27:43.801 --> 00:27:45.702
But he is not a Syrian citizen,

400
00:27:45.702 --> 00:27:53.647
and the future of Syria and President al-Assad as a political figure 

401
00:27:53.647 --> 00:27:57.338
has to be determined by the Syrian people.

402
00:27:57.338 --> 00:28:03.540
As regards the Kurdish issue, this is a very big and complicated 

403
00:28:03.540 --> 00:28:09.129
problem. We keep in contact with many Kurdish groups and make no secret 

404
00:28:09.169 --> 00:28:16.746
of this. But with regard to military support of their activities,

405
00:28:16.746 --> 00:28:21.153
here our US colleagues are far ahead of the game;

406
00:28:21.153 --> 00:28:25.872
they are making much greater efforts in this regard.

407
00:28:25.872 --> 00:28:32.252
Our servicemen – not advisers –

408
00:28:32.252 --> 00:28:41.348
who are monitoring the ceasefire are indeed present in many regions 

409
00:28:41.348 --> 00:28:46.221
of Syria, where the truce agreement has been reached.

410
00:28:46.221 --> 00:28:50.543
But speaking of the regions you have mentioned,

411
00:28:50.543 --> 00:28:54.293
there are one or two of them there,

412
00:28:54.293 --> 00:28:57.112
they are not military units.

413
00:28:57.112 --> 00:29:02.661
They are performing the task that everyone is interested in fulfilling.

414
00:29:02.661 --> 00:29:08.071
But so far, we are not witnessing any preparations for military action;

415
00:29:08.071 --> 00:29:17.819
quite the opposite, we expect that our preliminary developments 

416
00:29:17.819 --> 00:29:20.720
on establishing the de-escalation zones in several regions –

417
00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:23.127
in the Idlib area, in the north –

418
00:29:23.127 --> 00:29:28.410
will be accomplished. And this cannot be done without Turkey's support.

419
00:29:28.410 --> 00:29:36.971
My colleagues here have already recalled the words 

420
00:29:36.971 --> 00:29:39.008
President Trump said in Warsaw.

421
00:29:39.008 --> 00:29:43.008
He made yet another statement about the United States being ready 

422
00:29:43.008 --> 00:29:45.182
to begin direct supplies of liquefied natural gas to Poland 

423
00:29:45.182 --> 00:29:48.725
and Central Europe. What do you think of these plans,

424
00:29:48.725 --> 00:29:53.117
especially in the context of our plans for the Nord Stream? What if gas 

425
00:29:53.117 --> 00:29:56.103
becomes a new cause of tension in US-Russian relations?

426
00:29:56.103 --> 00:30:00.992
I view these plans highly positively because healthy 

427
00:30:00.992 --> 00:30:03.183
competition is good for everyone.

428
00:30:03.183 --> 00:30:07.072
We support an open market and healthy competition.

429
00:30:07.072 --> 00:30:13.597
The US President said yesterday during the discussion that the United 

430
00:30:13.597 --> 00:30:17.239
States stands for open, fair competition.

431
00:30:17.239 --> 00:30:23.089
And, by the way, when I spoke, I supported his point.

432
00:30:23.089 --> 00:30:26.333
So, we are absolutely all right with this;

433
00:30:26.333 --> 00:30:31.884
if it is so, if there is open and fair competition,

434
00:30:31.884 --> 00:30:40.173
no political motives or political resources involved,

435
00:30:40.173 --> 00:30:41.523
it would be quite acceptable for us.

436
00:30:41.523 --> 00:30:46.112
Because to date, it is an obvious fact that any specialist would tell 

437
00:30:46.112 --> 00:30:50.384
you: the cost of production and delivery of liquefied natural gas from 

438
00:30:50.384 --> 00:30:57.821
the United States is much higher than our LNG – even LNG –

439
00:30:57.821 --> 00:31:02.580
and is not even comparable to Russian pipeline gas.

440
00:31:02.580 --> 00:31:08.259
So, there is no doubt that we have an absolute competitive advantage.

441
00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:14.062
But to keep it, our market participants must work hard.

442
00:31:14.062 --> 00:31:17.906
They need to retain these competitive advantages.

443
00:31:17.906 --> 00:31:22.559
Let us wrap this up. Go ahead, please.

444
00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:27.038
After the first meeting with President Trump,

445
00:31:27.038 --> 00:31:32.046
do you think it would be possible to gradually pull Russian-US 

446
00:31:32.046 --> 00:31:34.471
relations out of deep crisis they are in,

447
00:31:34.471 --> 00:31:37.725
or is it difficult to say anything at all yet?

448
00:31:37.725 --> 00:31:41.816
I very much hope so, and it seems to me that we have built 

449
00:31:41.816 --> 00:31:43.900
certain prerequisites for this.

450
00:31:43.900 --> 00:31:52.040
Thank you very much. All the best.