WEBVTT

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Good afternoon. The APEC summit is about to end.

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I would like to ask about your assessment of the work with the leaders,

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and possibly some organisational matters.

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In line with APEC traditions, a final document has been adopted.

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How did this work progress? There were probably some disagreements.

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Regarding organisation, Vietnam has done everything possible for us 

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to work comfortably and has undoubtedly created a very good 

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atmosphere. This is number one.

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Second. Concerning the summit’s theme –

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it is a highly relevant topic.

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You know – since most of the journalists here are Russian –

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we pay much attention to the digital economy in Russia in its different 

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aspects and manifestations, and we consider problems from 

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different angles.

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I think it is vitally important that Vietnam raised exactly this topic 

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because we should not only discuss some of the issues together but also 

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resolve them together. It is impossible to do it alone.

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For example, there is much talk about small and medium-sized 

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businesses, and micro business,

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but we have to realise how it can be integrated in the overall system,

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the general operational chain of the modern economy,

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the information economy.

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What needs to be done to achieve that? Russia had specific proposals 

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in this respect, and I voiced them.

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It concerns the very definition of the conceptual apparatus –

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what is digital economy, what is digital trade and so forth.

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It seems very simple at first glance but in fact it 

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requires careful analysis.

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Or, take another example: we must understand the social 

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consequences of new technologies.

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Some people say that it is dangerous and frightening since a lot 

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of jobs will become redundant, and it is unclear what 

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should be done about it.

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Others say there is no problem; we will just need retraining.

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But it requires an expert assessment,

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it requires working with trade unions,

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international experts and the International Labour Organisation,

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the ILO. All of this was a subject for our discussion.

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Other issues were also discussed, of course,

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including the fight against terrorism and the situation 

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on global energy markets.

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We have just talked about it during business lunch.

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We also spoke about the future of APEC.

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Mutual trade grew many-fold during the organisation’s lifetime.

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This basically shows the efficiency of the organisation.

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We discussed the need to further liberalise markets and build up 

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relations within a common and open market.

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Although some think that it is too early to talk about it because 

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of the different levels of the member states’ economies.

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Ms Lagarde’s report on the global economic situation was 

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very interesting. We know that the global economy keeps growing 

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and the mid-term forecast is good.

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But according to her there are risks related to the fact that the wage 

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growth rate in the developed economies is slowing down,

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which cuts into the consumer purchasing power.

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She also spoke about the need for a balanced budget,

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finance and credit policy, and the need for structural 

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changes in the economy. These were the subjects of our discussion.

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All that is extremely interesting,

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important and needed.

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And the fact that we have a general idea of the direction 

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to move in is of great significance.

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One of the summit’s mysteries was whether you and Mr Trump 

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would hold talks. As far as I understand,

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you have managed to talk “on the fly.

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” Could you please tell us what you talked about and why a full-fledged 

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meeting, full-scale talks failed to materialise?

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Regarding a separate meeting.

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First, this had to do with Mr Trump’s schedule,

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my schedule and certain protocol formalities which our teams,

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unfortunately, failed to coordinate.

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But they will be disciplined for that.

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However, nothing terrible has happened,

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we talked during today’s meeting, we communicated and, essentially,

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we have discussed everything we wanted to. What did we talk about?

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We talked about the matters discussed at the APEC summit,

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we talked about how new opportunities opened up by the digital economy 

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can be utilised in developing economic relations.

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And as you know, we also agreed a joint statement 

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on fighting terrorism in Syria.

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In this respect, I mean the former and the latter,

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we can state that the work on the APEC summit’s sidelines was useful 

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and successful because it was no easy to arrive 

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at the statement on Syria.

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Our experts were working on it ahead of the summit,

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and the final revision began yesterday.

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Foreign Minister Lavrov and Secretary of State Tillerson dealt with 

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issues that arose after the text was submitted by the experts,

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and the US President and I approved this document today.

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I think it is important because it stresses some absolutely 

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fundamental matters.

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First, it is the ongoing fight with terrorism.

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It is also vitally important for the United States in view 

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of the latest tragic events there related to terrorist encroachments.

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It is important for us, for a nation that has been facing this problem 

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for a long time, and for the whole international community.

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The fight against terror will go on,

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and it will go on through joint efforts.

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As to Syria, I think it crucial that we have confirmed the country’s 

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territorial integrity and sovereignty.

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We have agreed that after completing the fight against terror,

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liquidating the terrorist threat on that territory,

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we will move on along the road of political settlement under 

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the auspices of the United Nations.

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You can see the details of the statement.

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I think it has already been published.

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Mr President, what do you think of the so-called anti-Russia 

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investigations which seem to be gathering momentum in the United 

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States? US administration officials are accused of colluding with 

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Russia, and we hear that Trump’s election campaign members 

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supposedly met with your niece.

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How do you assess the situation? This is question one.

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And the second question, Mr President: when will it stop? 

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We can’t stand it anymore!

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Let us put aside the second part of your question for now.

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We will discuss it in due time.

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As to the first part, I have commented on that a number of times.

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I think that everything connected with the so-called “Russian dossier” 

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in the United States is currently a manifestation 

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of the ongoing internal political strife.

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I am certainly aware of the particular things you mentioned,

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although it is only yesterday that I found out from Mr Peskov about 

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some connections between my relatives and US administration officials.

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I do not know anything about that –

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absolutely nothing. I think this is just nonsense.

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Regarding the trade minister, I think it concerns the US 

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Secretary of Commerce.

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He used to run a business before,

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and he was a shareholder or an owner of a multinational shipping 

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company, so he would sign contracts with shippers from around 

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the world, maybe with Russian ones as well.

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But this is nothing more than business.

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It has never had anything to do with politics.

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I don’t even know his name, I heard it for the first time 

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a short while ago. So there is nothing to investigate here.

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But if there is a will, of course,

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one can dig around for a sensation. There are none, no sensations there.

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As for Mr Manafort, they somehow also try to tie him to Russia.

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The only connection is that as head and, probably,

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owner of an American PR agency he signed contracts,

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as a businessman working in this field.

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He also worked in Ukraine, including with former President Yanukovych.

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But I do not understand how this is related to Russia in any way.

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Nothing, there is absolutely nothing here,

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just empty talk and a will to grasp at any hunch to and use it against 

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the current US President.

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But let me repeat, this has nothing to do with us,

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let them deal with it on their own.

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You regularly meet with Mr Xi Jinping but this meeting was special 

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because it took place immediately following the [China’s] 

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Communist Party’s congress.

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As far as I know, it was a long meeting,

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and you even had a one-on-one talk for some time.

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Can you tell us what topics you discussed,

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whether the North Korean issue was touched upon,

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how close are the two nations’ position on this issue,

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and also what can we expect since this is a very acute 

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issue for the whole world?

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I have regular meetings with the Chinese President,

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and the volume of our relations is very large.

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It is our biggest economic partner with trade exceeding $60 

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billion, and that is after the slump.

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We will definitely reach the goal we have set if we retain the current 

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tempo, and I am confident that we will reach $100 billion 

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in the coming years. We have many plans in energy and nuclear power,

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in hydrocarbons; I am not going to list all those projects to save 

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time, since all that is well known.

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We have good prospects in space exploration,

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including work on outer space, and aviation 

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(a wide body aircraft).

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We have already set up a design organisation,

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and we have even got the name for the plane.

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We have good prospects in helicopter manufacturing: we are going 

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to make a heavy helicopter.

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This means there are a lot of areas for work,

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so we always have a topic for our discussions.

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Concerning foreign policy, our positions,

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as diplomats are known to say, are very close or coincide on many 

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issues, and they certainly do on the key ones.

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One of such key issues today is the North Korean problem.

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Our views completely overlap here.

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We believe that it is a problem,

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we do not recognise North Korea’s nuclear status,

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but at the same time we urge all the opposing,

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conflicting sides to scale down the confrontation and to find 

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the strength to sit down at the negotiating table.

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There is no other solution to the issue.

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Russia and China put forward a roadmap for solving this problem,

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which states every step to be made –

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first to stop the rhetoric, then to stop any signs of aggression from 

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all the parties, and ultimately to sit down at the negotiating table.

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But, as you have heard, there have been some encouraging signals 

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lately, including from the US administration,

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Japan and South Korea regarding the overall understanding by everyone 

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that there is no alternative to this way of solving 

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the problem. We hope it will happen this way.

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It is true that there was also a one-on-one meeting,

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and the Chinese President gave a detailed account of the Communist 

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Party congress and the mid-term plans China sets before itself.

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This is important for us, in reference to what I began with,

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because China is our biggest economic partner.

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It is very important for us to understand where and how this large 

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economy will move, as it is set to become the world’s 

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number one economy in the coming years.

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It is inevitable with the annual growth rate of over six percent,

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and it was even bigger in the past.

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We must certainly understand how we need to adjust our work with China 

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in terms of our plans for the EAEU development,

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and aligning those plans with China’s Silk Road plans and their 

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strategy for developing relations with their neighbours.

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Mr President, talks on the sidelines of such summits are sometimes 

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as essential as official meetings.

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Can you tell us about your contacts backstage?

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And one more question on the issue.

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Donald Trump is famous for pulling his vis-à-vis towards 

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himself as he shakes hands.

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However, they say such tricks are a no-go with a master 

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of sports in Sambo. Did he try to do something like that 

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when he shook hands with you?

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You know, I am not aware of his tricks,

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we do not know each other well.

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But the US President’s behaviour is absolutely polite 

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and friendly, and we have a normal dialogue.

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Unfortunately, there is too little time,

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we still have not managed to discuss the entire range of our relations,

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and there is a great deal to talk about –

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both in the security area and in the area of economic cooperation,

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which is practically suspended as of today.

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We had a meagre 28 billion, and now we have 20 billion.

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This is nothing for such nations as the United States 

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and Russia, it is almost zero.

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This is why we and our teams should definitely find an opportunity 

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to sit down and discuss the whole scope of our relations.

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But let me reiterate, he is a courteous man and it is 

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comfortable to talk and work with him.

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(Inaudible.)

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But as you are aware, there was a meeting with the Japanese Prime 

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Minister, President of the Philippines,

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President of China and a separate meeting with the President 

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of Vietnam. I had very detailed conversations with each of the leaders.

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There are certain specifics in the relations with each of these 

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nations, I mean the level of our economic relations,

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political interaction, work in the area of security 

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and military technical cooperation.

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00:16:00.526 --> 00:16:02.154
There is a whole range of questions,

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00:16:02.154 --> 00:16:03.418
so it is hard to narrate everything here.

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But it was very useful and I think – no, I am confident –

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that it will have an effect on our practical work with 

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these partner countries.

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Good afternoon. I would like to go back to the Syria issue and ask 

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about your assessment of what is happening in the Syrian 

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Arab Republic today. Clearly, it is not a turning point which was 

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referred to just a year ago.

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What is going on now and what are the prospects for that country?

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As of today, it is absolutely obvious that the military efforts 

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to liquidate the terrorist hotbed in Syria are nearing completion.

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The latest developments in the southeast of the country testify 

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to this – it was practically the last ISIS stronghold,

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a town on the Syria-Iraq border in the southeast,

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00:17:08.116 --> 00:17:15.318
followed by the liberating of the eastern bank of the Euphrates.

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The crucial thing now is to finish that work and to strengthen 

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de-escalation zone agreements, to enhance the ceasefire regime 

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and create conditions for launching political dialogue.

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Actually, this is what today’s Russian-US joint statement is directed 

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00:17:40.950 --> 00:17:46.651
at. I think it will be a significant factor in settling 

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the Syria problem.

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The US Department of Justice is forcing our channel [Russia Today] 

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00:17:57.621 --> 00:18:01.364
to register as a foreign agent.

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Also, Twitter recently banned our advertising even though it has been 

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paid for and is published legally.

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What do you think of this unprecedented pressure on the Russian media 

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00:18:11.869 --> 00:18:14.427
in the United States, and can we expect a response?

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As our people say, it would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.

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Because the people who are doing this in the US used to do a lot 

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00:18:25.998 --> 00:18:27.835
of chest thumping calling themselves the Number One 

276
00:18:27.835 --> 00:18:28.868
Democrats in the world.

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And the freedom of the press has always been put 

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00:18:32.504 --> 00:18:37.915
on a pedestal as a beacon of democracy.

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Democracy does not exist without the freedom of speech.

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The attack on the Russian media in the United States is an attack 

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on the freedom of speech, there is no doubt about it.

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We are disappointed, as they say in such cases.

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But clearly it could not be any other way.

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And what is being discussed at the State Duma 

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(I watched it yesterday) may look somewhat sharp,

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00:19:08.705 --> 00:19:15.819
because the legislative authorities often come out with extreme 

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00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:20.832
assessments, harsh judgments and tough proposals.

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But we have to give some sort of a response,

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00:19:25.073 --> 00:19:27.543
and it will be mirror response.

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I would like to draw your attention to the fact that there is no 

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00:19:32.242 --> 00:19:33.949
and cannot be any evidence of our media’s meddling 

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00:19:33.949 --> 00:19:37.591
in the election campaign.

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The latest Congressional, I think,

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00:19:41.626 --> 00:19:45.164
or Senate hearings have revealed that the advertising had a share 

295
00:19:45.164 --> 00:19:48.498
of zero point zero zero, or one hundredth of a percentage point.

296
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The impact on the audience also amounts to the tenth 

297
00:19:54.267 --> 00:19:55.986
or hundredth of a percentage point.

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There can be no comparison: your advertising cost about 100,000,

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00:20:01.132 --> 00:20:05.279
whereas other US media placed advertisements worth millions.

300
00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:06.964
There can be no comparison.

301
00:20:06.964 --> 00:20:12.741
However, even this appeared to be a danger and is treated 

302
00:20:12.741 --> 00:20:14.744
as a sort of interference.

303
00:20:14.764 --> 00:20:20.342
The media provide information, interpret it and offer their opinion.

304
00:20:20.342 --> 00:20:26.440
One can argue with them but not by shutting them down or putting up 

305
00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:32.899
barriers making their professional activities impossible,

306
00:20:32.899 --> 00:20:36.166
but rather by offering one’s own opinion,

307
00:20:36.166 --> 00:20:39.392
relating one’s own information to the audience.

308
00:20:39.392 --> 00:20:41.859
Nevertheless, they opted for actually shutting them down.

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The response will be adequate and mirror.

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Mr President, good afternoon.

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00:20:50.709 --> 00:20:54.241
The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is going 

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00:20:54.241 --> 00:20:58.721
to offer Russia a plan on the deployment of US 

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00:20:58.721 --> 00:21:03.105
peacekeepers; they put their number at 20,000.

314
00:21:03.105 --> 00:21:03.747
Where?

315
00:21:03.747 --> 00:21:06.158
In Donbass, Ukraine.

316
00:21:06.158 --> 00:21:09.526
I know nothing about it. You do not need to go on because…

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00:21:09.526 --> 00:21:12.365
This is what they wanted to somehow convey to our leadership.

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00:21:12.365 --> 00:21:15.045
Have you heard about it? And what would you think 

319
00:21:15.045 --> 00:21:17.356
hypothetically of such a proposal if it came?

320
00:21:17.356 --> 00:21:18.553
I have already answered your question.

321
00:21:18.553 --> 00:21:22.058
I have heard nothing about it, I know nothing about it,

322
00:21:22.058 --> 00:21:26.178
so it is impossible to comment on it. It is just not possible.

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00:21:26.178 --> 00:21:30.324
When detailed proposals are made…You see,

324
00:21:30.324 --> 00:21:32.440
this is how things are in real life.

325
00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:36.931
A suggestion is one thing whereas when a proposal is laid down 

326
00:21:36.931 --> 00:21:41.186
on paper, things often look quite different.

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And you will agree, commenting on something non-existent –

328
00:21:44.816 --> 00:21:47.315
what am I going to speak about if it does not exist? When 

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00:21:47.315 --> 00:21:50.717
those proposals come, we will see.

330
00:21:50.717 --> 00:21:59.673
Are you disappointed about not meeting with Mr Trump? What does it say 

331
00:21:59.673 --> 00:22:06.920
about the current state of Russia-US relations?

332
00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:11.260
It says the relations between Russia and the United States 

333
00:22:11.260 --> 00:22:18.288
are still in crisis. As you know, I speak often and at length about it,

334
00:22:18.288 --> 00:22:23.775
we are ready to turn this page over and move on,

335
00:22:23.775 --> 00:22:27.281
to look into the future, to solve problems which are of concern both 

336
00:22:27.281 --> 00:22:30.815
for the people of the United States and the people of the Russian 

337
00:22:30.815 --> 00:22:33.266
Federation, and to think about filling our economic 

338
00:22:33.266 --> 00:22:35.348
relations with concrete significant content.

339
00:22:35.348 --> 00:22:39.919
Look, at the last Economic Forum in St Petersburg,

340
00:22:39.919 --> 00:22:44.306
the US companies had the largest representation.

341
00:22:44.306 --> 00:22:49.674
US companies were in the majority at the Economic Forum in St 

342
00:22:49.674 --> 00:22:53.318
Petersburg. Everyone wants to work in Russia.

343
00:22:53.318 --> 00:22:57.835
Now, they did not let ExxonMobil work on the Arctic shelf.

344
00:22:57.835 --> 00:23:02.352
The company was simply deprived just of an interesting,

345
00:23:02.352 --> 00:23:05.719
promising opportunity that would have enhanced the economic power 

346
00:23:05.719 --> 00:23:08.182
of the United States, created jobs in the United States,

347
00:23:08.182 --> 00:23:11.602
generated revenue, taxes, etc.

348
00:23:11.602 --> 00:23:16.535
This is just one example, while taking into account restrictions 

349
00:23:16.535 --> 00:23:20.241
in financing, for instance, there are many more examples.

350
00:23:20.241 --> 00:23:22.914
Your place will be taken by your competitors.

351
00:23:22.914 --> 00:23:25.301
It is inevitable in the modern world.

352
00:23:25.301 --> 00:23:29.544
But we want harmonious relations with the United States not just 

353
00:23:29.544 --> 00:23:34.430
in the economy but also in ensuring security.

354
00:23:34.430 --> 00:23:41.282
We have the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty –

355
00:23:41.282 --> 00:23:44.400
START III. When the treaty was being concluded,

356
00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:48.023
I was not the President of Russia,

357
00:23:48.023 --> 00:23:54.325
and President Trump did not take part in drafting that treaty.

358
00:23:54.325 --> 00:23:59.527
But it exists. There are issues in it that need to be discussed.

359
00:23:59.527 --> 00:24:04.242
Another problem is short- and intermediate-range missiles.

360
00:24:04.242 --> 00:24:10.233
We hear reprimands from some of our US partners that Russia allegedly 

361
00:24:10.233 --> 00:24:13.737
violates that Treaty. But in this case, they should show how we do it.

362
00:24:13.737 --> 00:24:19.466
Meanwhile, in Romania there are launch pads deployed that can be used 

363
00:24:19.466 --> 00:24:23.228
not only for interceptor missiles but also for the Trident system,

364
00:24:23.228 --> 00:24:26.385
which are intermediate-range missiles deployed in the sea,

365
00:24:26.385 --> 00:24:29.168
and they can be easily brought ashore and used as surface-based 

366
00:24:29.168 --> 00:24:34.421
intermediate-range missiles. In our view, this is a direct violation.

367
00:24:34.421 --> 00:24:37.706
There are also some other issues that we can and should discuss,

368
00:24:37.706 --> 00:24:39.458
including the fight against terrorism.

369
00:24:39.458 --> 00:24:44.520
The fact that even under such conditions we manage to agree on anything 

370
00:24:44.520 --> 00:24:49.765
(I mean the Syria statement) is already good, albeit too little.

371
00:24:49.765 --> 00:25:02.168
I would like to ask about yesterday’s meeting with Prime Minister Abe.

372
00:25:02.168 --> 00:25:09.591
You said the election victory in Japan “will let us 

373
00:25:09.591 --> 00:25:14.176
implement all our plans.

374
00:25:14.176 --> 00:25:19.520
” What do “our plans” mean? Mr Abe’s plan, as we know,

375
00:25:19.520 --> 00:25:22.885
includes signing the peace treaty.

376
00:25:22.885 --> 00:25:32.087
Do you agree that this issue is part of your joint plan?

377
00:25:32.087 --> 00:25:36.887
And one more thing. Negotiating the implementation of this plan will 

378
00:25:36.887 --> 00:25:40.153
probably take several years.

379
00:25:40.153 --> 00:25:48.478
Does it mean you will run for president again?

380
00:25:48.478 --> 00:25:54.912
You have rightly said that we have many plans,

381
00:25:54.912 --> 00:25:58.203
and we have made them public a number of times.

382
00:25:58.203 --> 00:26:00.257
In the economy they are, primarily,

383
00:26:00.257 --> 00:26:02.975
Prime Minister Abe’s plans.

384
00:26:02.975 --> 00:26:06.016
As you are aware, he worded his proposals in a number 

385
00:26:06.016 --> 00:26:08.150
of fields several months ago.

386
00:26:08.150 --> 00:26:11.496
Moreover, he has even appointed a special minister to deal 

387
00:26:11.496 --> 00:26:14.850
with these issues. This is just one problem.

388
00:26:14.850 --> 00:26:18.406
The second problem, or the second part of the problem,

389
00:26:18.406 --> 00:26:21.253
are the security issues in the whole region.

390
00:26:21.253 --> 00:26:27.135
We have just spoken about the North Korea problem here 

391
00:26:27.135 --> 00:26:28.398
at the news conference. We have discussed it as well.

392
00:26:28.398 --> 00:26:30.975
We talked about both the first part and the second one.

393
00:26:30.975 --> 00:26:36.023
Naturally, we spoke about the peace treaty,

394
00:26:36.023 --> 00:26:39.249
too. And this certainly is part of our joint plans.

395
00:26:39.249 --> 00:26:43.704
I mean to say that there are many challenges with regard 

396
00:26:43.704 --> 00:26:47.117
to the peace treaty. It is no secret –

397
00:26:47.117 --> 00:26:52.685
we also have to look into Japan’s obligations to its partners 

398
00:26:52.685 --> 00:26:56.098
in the sphere of defence and security,

399
00:26:56.098 --> 00:27:11.292
how it will affect the peace treaty negotiating process, which obligations Japan has, and what it can and what it cannot do independently.

400
00:27:11.292 --> 00:27:16.047
It is quite natural that if there are some agreements,

401
00:27:16.047 --> 00:27:18.532
they should be complied with.

402
00:27:18.532 --> 00:27:23.589
We need to find out how it will tell on our relations with 

403
00:27:23.589 --> 00:27:29.416
Japan, this is a lot of work. It may indeed take more than one year.

404
00:27:29.416 --> 00:27:31.806
However, there are some issues that can be resolved today.

405
00:27:31.806 --> 00:27:36.976
For example, Prime Minister Abe raised the issue of Japanese citizens 

406
00:27:36.976 --> 00:27:43.089
visiting the Southern Kurils to see the graves of their ancestors,

407
00:27:43.089 --> 00:27:46.463
and asked us to arrange it in a simplified way,

408
00:27:46.463 --> 00:27:49.020
visa-free. As you know, we are doing that.

409
00:27:49.020 --> 00:27:54.524
He also asked us to allow those Japanese citizens to visit not only 

410
00:27:54.524 --> 00:28:00.108
the places they had been to before but also the so-called restricted 

411
00:28:00.108 --> 00:28:03.912
areas of those islands. We also agreed to that.

412
00:28:03.912 --> 00:28:07.837
We have agreed for a group of Japanese businesspeople to come 

413
00:28:07.837 --> 00:28:10.431
to the islands so as to discuss on site possible joint 

414
00:28:10.431 --> 00:28:15.126
development issues. We also agreed to that,

415
00:28:15.126 --> 00:28:19.106
and such visits did take place.

416
00:28:19.106 --> 00:28:23.276
It means something can be done right away whereas other matters may be 

417
00:28:23.276 --> 00:28:24.905
scheduled for a longer period.

418
00:28:24.905 --> 00:28:28.130
However, this does not depend on who is in power –

419
00:28:28.130 --> 00:28:31.296
Abe, Putin or someone else – it does not matter.

420
00:28:31.296 --> 00:28:34.508
What matters is the commitment of our countries,

421
00:28:34.508 --> 00:28:39.247
our peoples to long-term settlement of all the problems so as to create 

422
00:28:39.247 --> 00:28:42.432
favourable conditions for the development of our relations not 

423
00:28:42.432 --> 00:28:46.339
in the short- or medium-term but rather in a long-term 

424
00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:47.849
historical period.

425
00:28:47.849 --> 00:28:51.120
Thank you very much for your attention.