WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.155
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,

2
00:00:10.155 --> 00:00:12.522
The talks with the President of the Czech Republic were held 

3
00:00:12.522 --> 00:00:21.569
in a friendly and constructive atmosphere.

4
00:00:21.569 --> 00:00:26.579
We discussed in detail the entire range of bilateral matters and we 

5
00:00:26.579 --> 00:00:36.440
outlined certain plans for the future.

6
00:00:36.440 --> 00:00:46.091
We exchanged views on current international and regional topics as well.

7
00:00:46.091 --> 00:00:57.571
This is my second meeting with Mr Zeman this year which is indicative 

8
00:00:57.571 --> 00:01:01.698
of the great importance that we attach to the promotion 

9
00:01:01.698 --> 00:01:07.147
of bilateral cooperation.

10
00:01:07.147 --> 00:01:10.930
A month and a half from now, in January 2018,

11
00:01:10.930 --> 00:01:14.983
we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of diplomatic 

12
00:01:14.983 --> 00:01:23.556
relations between our countries.

13
00:01:23.556 --> 00:01:32.303
Priority during the talks was given to economic ties.

14
00:01:32.303 --> 00:01:35.663
This year, by jointly pooling our efforts,

15
00:01:35.663 --> 00:01:39.162
we managed to overcome the decline in mutual trade,

16
00:01:39.162 --> 00:01:51.593
which had taken place over the past several years.

17
00:01:51.593 --> 00:02:00.063
Mr President pays special attention to this at all our meetings.

18
00:02:00.063 --> 00:02:20.517
Bilateral trade grew by 42.9 percent during January-September.

19
00:02:20.517 --> 00:02:23.188
The Intergovernmental Commission does its part to promote our trade 

20
00:02:23.188 --> 00:02:31.922
and economic relations.

21
00:02:31.922 --> 00:02:44.499
A representative delegation of Czech entrepreneurs has come to Russia 

22
00:02:44.499 --> 00:02:47.407
with Mr Zeman, and will take part in two business forums 

23
00:02:47.407 --> 00:02:55.381
in Moscow and in Yekaterinburg.

24
00:02:55.381 --> 00:03:10.649
I am confident that these forums will reinvigorate our business ties.

25
00:03:10.649 --> 00:03:20.981
We discussed cooperation in the oil and gas sector,

26
00:03:20.981 --> 00:03:33.417
which is big. The Czech Republic is not only a major market for Russian 

27
00:03:33.417 --> 00:03:36.091
goods, but also an important transit link for the Russian fuel supplied 

28
00:03:36.091 --> 00:03:51.171
to consumers in Western Europe.

29
00:03:51.171 --> 00:03:54.862
This year, more than 19 billion cubic metres of gas has been pumped 

30
00:03:54.862 --> 00:04:08.386
through the territory of the Czech Republic.

31
00:04:08.386 --> 00:04:15.429
Cooperation is actively developing in the nuclear power industry.

32
00:04:15.429 --> 00:04:20.038
We supply nuclear fuel to power plants in the Czech 

33
00:04:20.038 --> 00:04:33.899
Republic and provide service maintenance.

34
00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:41.345
We reviewed industrial cooperation,

35
00:04:41.345 --> 00:04:47.693
including in the sphere of the car industry.

36
00:04:47.693 --> 00:04:51.715
As is known, Skoda assembles vehicles at Russian plants 

37
00:04:51.715 --> 00:05:07.084
in Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod.

38
00:05:07.084 --> 00:05:13.926
Other Czech companies produce auto parts: the BRISK company makes spark 

39
00:05:13.926 --> 00:05:34.653
plugs in Togliatti, and Jihostroj makes hydraulic pumps in Tatarstan.

40
00:05:34.653 --> 00:05:38.292
There are promising joint projects in high-tech 

41
00:05:38.292 --> 00:05:48.961
and knowledge-intensive areas.

42
00:05:48.961 --> 00:05:51.741
Businesses from the Czech Republic are widely represented 

43
00:05:51.741 --> 00:06:02.707
in the Russian market, especially in metallurgy, pharmaceuticals,

44
00:06:02.707 --> 00:06:15.645
agriculture, chemicals, and textile manufacturing.

45
00:06:15.645 --> 00:06:26.275
Interregional cooperation is also growing: over 20 Russian regions have 

46
00:06:26.275 --> 00:06:33.933
signed cooperation agreements with Czech regions.

47
00:06:33.933 --> 00:06:41.287
Humanitarian ties are developing.

48
00:06:41.287 --> 00:06:46.290
The day after tomorrow President Zeman will open the exhibition,

49
00:06:46.290 --> 00:06:59.835
Treasures of Prague Castle, in Moscow’s State Historical Museum.

50
00:06:59.835 --> 00:07:04.674
Leading Russian ensembles perform or plan to perform 

51
00:07:04.674 --> 00:07:17.411
in the Czech Republic.

52
00:07:17.411 --> 00:07:24.141
I have expressed gratitude to the President and all citizens 

53
00:07:24.141 --> 00:07:27.180
of the Czech Republic for their concern for our military memorials 

54
00:07:27.180 --> 00:07:30.348
on Czech territory, where more than 50,000 Russian soldiers,

55
00:07:30.368 --> 00:07:34.498
who died in battles for the freedom of Czechoslovakia,

56
00:07:34.498 --> 00:07:53.634
in the fight against Nazism, are buried.

57
00:07:53.634 --> 00:08:07.105
Relationships are growing between universities of the two countries: 70 

58
00:08:07.105 --> 00:08:14.215
bilateral agreements have been signed.

59
00:08:14.215 --> 00:08:15.579
There is also a mutual interest in language study ​​–

60
00:08:15.579 --> 00:08:24.934
Russian and Czech, respectively.

61
00:08:24.934 --> 00:08:31.206
Mr Zeman has initiated the establishment of a Russian-Czech discussion 

62
00:08:31.206 --> 00:08:34.420
club, which is intended to be an additional platform for informal 

63
00:08:34.420 --> 00:08:36.065
communication between representatives of civil society 

64
00:08:36.065 --> 00:08:53.554
in Russia and the Czech Republic.

65
00:08:53.554 --> 00:09:00.543
Of course, we will back this initiative.

66
00:09:00.543 --> 00:09:02.681
We have touched upon the most pressing issues 

67
00:09:02.681 --> 00:09:11.029
of the European and global agenda.

68
00:09:11.029 --> 00:09:14.868
We believe that normalisation of relations between the European Union 

69
00:09:14.868 --> 00:09:20.904
and Russia would benefit everyone.

70
00:09:20.904 --> 00:09:25.951
I have informed the President of our views on the prospects 

71
00:09:25.951 --> 00:09:40.096
for resolving the Ukrainian crisis and the results of yesterday's 

72
00:09:40.096 --> 00:09:49.874
meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,

73
00:09:49.874 --> 00:09:56.817
as well as our antiterrorist plans in Syria and tomorrow’s trilateral 

74
00:09:56.817 --> 00:10:10.073
meeting with the presidents of Iran and Turkey.

75
00:10:10.073 --> 00:10:14.533
In conclusion, I would like to thank the President and all our Czech 

76
00:10:14.533 --> 00:10:25.682
colleagues and friends for the open and informative conversation.

77
00:10:25.682 --> 00:10:34.508
The President and his team have an even bigger programme in Russia.

78
00:10:34.548 --> 00:10:37.286
I am confident that this work will benefit the development 

79
00:10:37.286 --> 00:10:43.911
of bilateral relations.

80
00:10:43.911 --> 00:10:47.088
And I want to thank the President for the attention he pays 

81
00:10:47.088 --> 00:10:55.160
to the development of Russian-Czech relations.

82
00:10:55.160 --> 00:11:01.786
Thank you.

83
00:11:01.786 --> 00:11:06.692
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr President,

84
00:11:06.692 --> 00:11:19.028
I will pick up where President Putin left off and provide 

85
00:11:19.028 --> 00:11:21.760
some facts for you.

86
00:11:21.760 --> 00:11:40.918
I brought about 140 Czech entrepreneurs with me,

87
00:11:40.918 --> 00:11:45.165
and since the corresponding division of the Czech Army,

88
00:11:45.165 --> 00:11:50.744
which provides government services, operates only two Airbus aircraft,

89
00:11:50.744 --> 00:11:54.429
we had to lease a third plane.

90
00:11:54.429 --> 00:12:14.105
When I was in France, I was accompanied by 14 entrepreneurs,

91
00:12:14.105 --> 00:12:17.937
whereas on this trip to Russia I am accompanied by 140 entrepreneurs,

92
00:12:17.937 --> 00:12:23.354
so you can conclude that Russia is ten times more important 

93
00:12:23.354 --> 00:12:25.166
for us than France.

94
00:12:25.166 --> 00:12:40.546
With regard to specific agreements and properly documented agreements,

95
00:12:40.546 --> 00:12:46.457
ten of them will be signed in Moscow and three in Yekaterinburg.

96
00:12:46.457 --> 00:13:03.796
The total value of the signed agreements will be $20 billion.

97
00:13:03.796 --> 00:13:16.442
It is gratifying to know that 6,

98
00:13:16.442 --> 00:13:20.390
000 students from Russia are currently studying at Czech 

99
00:13:20.390 --> 00:13:23.600
higher education institutions.

100
00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:42.040
It is also comforting to be aware of the fact that not only exports 

101
00:13:42.060 --> 00:13:46.558
and imports are growing, but the number of Russian tourists coming 

102
00:13:46.558 --> 00:13:48.133
to the Czech Republic is also on the rise.

103
00:13:48.133 --> 00:14:00.658
This confirms that, despite all the sanctions,

104
00:14:00.658 --> 00:14:03.746
economic cooperation continues.

105
00:14:03.746 --> 00:14:17.920
However, this does not mean that I have reconciled myself 

106
00:14:17.920 --> 00:14:22.665
to the sanctions. You are well aware that I have opposed them 

107
00:14:22.665 --> 00:14:40.289
for a long time now, and this concerns not only the sanctions that 

108
00:14:40.289 --> 00:14:44.262
the EU has imposed on Russia, but also the sanctions that 

109
00:14:44.262 --> 00:14:47.910
Russia has imposed on the EU.

110
00:14:47.910 --> 00:14:55.126
One fine day, Mr President, we need to put an end to it 

111
00:14:55.126 --> 00:14:55.969
in the food department.

112
00:14:55.969 --> 00:15:10.091
After all, if you do not, you will not be able to enjoy our 

113
00:15:10.091 --> 00:15:19.029
excellent cheeses and yoghurts.

114
00:15:19.029 --> 00:15:29.712
We will get some beer, and then sort out the yogurt. (Laughter)

115
00:15:29.712 --> 00:15:38.183
I am not sure if the sanctions include beer. I believe not.

116
00:15:38.183 --> 00:16:03.865
However, Mr President, you were too modest in any case,

117
00:16:03.865 --> 00:16:10.066
because the idea of ​​establishing a Russian-Czech discussion forum 

118
00:16:10.066 --> 00:16:13.300
came to both of us at the same time in China.

119
00:16:13.300 --> 00:16:35.850
I will be pleased if, primarily,

120
00:16:35.850 --> 00:16:36.983
historians will take part in this forum,

121
00:16:36.983 --> 00:16:42.236
if they get access to the archives and uncover new documents which will 

122
00:16:42.236 --> 00:16:54.308
help shed light on certain chapters of our common history.

123
00:16:54.308 --> 00:17:18.755
In closing, I would like to add that I consider it an enjoyable part 

124
00:17:18.755 --> 00:17:22.983
of my job to present state decorations to WWII veterans who took part 

125
00:17:22.983 --> 00:17:30.038
in the heroic liberation of Czechoslovakia.

126
00:17:30.038 --> 00:17:41.144
Indeed, there are people who condemn and rewrite history.

127
00:17:41.144 --> 00:17:50.603
I think it is just pathetic.

128
00:17:50.603 --> 00:18:09.932
In a recent interview with TASS,

129
00:18:09.932 --> 00:18:15.374
I gave an example of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, who,

130
00:18:15.374 --> 00:18:29.888
speaking before the reporters of the German ARD channel,

131
00:18:29.888 --> 00:18:32.962
said the following (I quote): ”In 1943,

132
00:18:32.962 --> 00:18:51.070
the Soviet Union attacked Germany,

133
00:18:51.110 --> 00:18:54.146
and occupied Ukraine on its way there.

134
00:18:54.146 --> 00:19:03.207
“ Again, this was the prime minister.

135
00:19:03.207 --> 00:19:15.150
He is no longer in office, but I am afraid that this interview was not 

136
00:19:15.170 --> 00:19:17.700
the reason for his dismissal or resignation.

137
00:19:17.700 --> 00:19:35.101
So, those who do not remember their past are doomed to repeat it.

138
00:19:35.101 --> 00:19:40.120
Thank you.