WEBVTT

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Good afternoon. There will be no opening remarks.

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I am ready to answer your questions.

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Good afternoon. The Belt and Road is a very ambitious project –

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to the extent that it raises concerns in some.

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China is not a country that makes plans only for years ahead –

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it makes plans for decades proceeding not from billions but 

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from trillions of dollars.

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This leads to the question, is this China's project or is it beneficial 

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for other participants? Is it beneficial for Russia?

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China is a vast country.

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I have mentioned that according to open sources and IMF data,

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China is the world's top economy as regards purchasing power parity.

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It is considerably lower per capita than, say, in the United States,

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but the volume is higher.

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Therefore, of course, China has plans for its development,

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and they are immense and ambitious;

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when China implements anything it uses a highly pragmatic 

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approach to achieve its tasks.

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China is our strategic partner;

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this is obvious from all indicators and parameters.

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China is Russia's top trading partner.

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Our aim in 2018 was to reach the volume of $100 billion,

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and we exceed that, at $108 billion.

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And we have good prospects for development.

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When the country's leadership and President Xi Jinping formulate these 

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plans and set development tasks for themselves and for the country –

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this is a very pragmatic approach.

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Just like us or any other country,

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they are governed by their national interests. This is normal.

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China implements this in a civilised and delicate way,

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making sure proposals for common development meet the interests 

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of the vast majority of international participants,

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if not all. Generally speaking, China has offered nothing new;

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what it is doing is actually making attempts to reaffirm the principles 

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set out by the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary 

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Fund, and many of our colleagues are mentioning this backstage like 

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they did at the last meeting. What is China’s goal? Stability.

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What is the reason for this? China's economy is immense,

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and the domestic market is growing.

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But today, what China produces is basically oriented 

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towards foreign markets.

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Of course, domestic consumption will gradually increase with 

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the overall growth of people’s incomes.

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Today China is interested in pushing its products to foreign markets,

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which is a natural aspiration for any country.

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For example, the Swedish economy is almost entirely focused on exports,

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and the same applies to the German economy.

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China simply has more products to offer.

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So how should China respond when it faces certain restrictions 

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and attempts by some countries to stop its development? What should 

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China do? It must strengthen the fundamental tenets of global economic 

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relations, and create conditions for promoting its products.

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How can this be done? By developing transport infrastructure,

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port facilities, air, rail and motor transport,

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and building roads. This is exactly what China is doing.

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This was how it all started, but later it became obvious both in terms 

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of China’s growth and for us as well,

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that this would not be enough.

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We needed to strengthen the fundamental tenets 

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of international economic relations.

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Is Russia interested in this? Of course,

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it is. Considering the high volume of trade and the fact that it is 

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growing, we are certainly interested in benefiting from the transit 

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potential of the Trans-Siberian Railway and Baikal-Amur Mainline,

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and we intend to invest heavily in them,

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as well as in motor transport and roads.

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We have earmarked trillions of rubles for infrastructure development.

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Why are we doing this? In order to make effective use of our country’s 

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transit potential and to be able to engage in mutual import 

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and export operations.

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China acts in a highly civilised manner.

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For many years, we have been raising the issue of the need to increase 

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the share of engineering goods in our trade.

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This is now beginning to materialise,

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which is attributable among other things to the position 

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adopted by China’s leadership.

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I am very grateful to President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li 

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Keqiang for their consistent efforts to improve China’s 

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trade patterns with Russia.

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Does this meet our interests? Absolutely.

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I think that this initiative has a very bright future ahead of it,

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since almost all of us are interested in this,

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as I have already said.

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No one wants to face any restrictions, no one wants any trade wars,

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maybe with the exception of those who are behind these processes.

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In any case, an overwhelming majority,

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nearly 100 percent strongly believe that these restrictions and wars 

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undermine the global economy and its development.

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As strange as it may sound, the global economy as a whole needs 

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the liberal values that China currently champions.

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It is for this reason that I believe that this initiative will develop 

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further, which can also be explained by Chinese philosophy: they 

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advance with extreme caution and not only seek to take into 

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consideration the interests of their partners,

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but actually do so in their political and practical activities.

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The world has a very positive view of these developments.

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You had a marathon of bilateral meetings and brief 

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conversations on the forum’s sidelines.

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What mattered to you the most in these meetings? Thank you.

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You know, it is hard to pinpoint something specifically.

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We can talk about things that matter to us in general.

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What matters to us is that we are building positive and business-like 

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relations with many of our partners,

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with most countries of the world.

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Everyone I met with said they wanted to work with us.

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What did we do? We focused primarily on bilateral relations.

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In every specific case, there are certain priorities in terms 

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of bilateral relations, since the structure of trade and economic ties 

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varies depending on the country.

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That said, there are good prospects for working with all countries.

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Of course, there are also broader,

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global matters. I am referring to security matters,

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including regional security.

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How could we fail to discuss at the meeting with the President of Egypt 

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our ambitious plans to build a nuclear power station? How could we not 

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discuss regional developments, including in Syria and in Libya,

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and many other issues? I just had a number of meetings with 

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my colleagues from European countries.

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Of course, I informed them about our vision of the developments 

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in Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

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I also made sure to inform my colleagues of the outcomes of my meeting 

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with the North Korean leader.

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That is to say, we worked on a broad range of issues of mutual interest.

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You also had a bilateral meeting with your Chinese partners 

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during the forum. May I ask in this regard whether you and Xi Jinping 

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discussed the prospects for Iranian oil exports being reduced to zero,

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since China is one of the largest importers of Iranian oil? Did you 

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talk about this? Did you discuss with your Chinese partners how you can 

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assist Iran in view of the US sanctions,

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including financial aid and any other types of assistance? Is Russia 

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ready to step in for Iran by increasing oil exports to China,

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which would mean increasing oil output in Russia? Thank you.

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President Xi Jinping and I barely discussed, if at all,

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matters related to our cooperation with Iran.

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We did not mention the oil-related matters either.

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As for whether Russia is ready to meet China’s needs,

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I can say that Russia is ready to meet the needs of China and many 

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other of our partners around the world.

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After all, Russia is a major oil producing country.

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The United States currently extracts more,

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but we have a daily output of 11.5 million barrels.

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You see? And we can produce even more.

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It varies, with Russia, Saudi Arabia and our US partners taking turns 

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in the role of the world’s largest oil producer.

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Our production volumes are more or less at the same level.

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Of course, we have a huge potential,

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but this is not the point.

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The thing is, we have an arrangement with OPEC whereby we committed 

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ourselves to keep our output at a certain level.

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This deal expires in July 2019,

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while the decisions by the US to impose various sanctions against Iran 

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are to come into force, if I am not mistaken,

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in early May. I have no idea how the global energy market 

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will respond to these developments.

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We have a deal with OPEC and we are honouring our commitments.

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As far as I know, all our partners within OPEC, including Saudi Arabia,

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remain committed to the OPEC+ deal.

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It is hard to say what will happen with the global energy market.

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We did not discuss this with our Chinese friends.

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Mr President, your executive order on a simplified procedure 

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for granting citizenship to residents of Lugansk and Donetsk regions 

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has been the subject of extensive discussion among experts 

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for a few days now. In particular,

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they are discussing whether this may require substantial expenses 

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for the Russian budget, and even naming the figure of 100 billion 

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rubles. Is the Russian budget ready for this? Will the government be 

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able to meet its social obligations to Russia's new citizens? Are there 

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concerns that a situation may occur when these regions' residents will 

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receive two pensions – in Russia and in Ukraine? Thank you.

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As to discussions of this issue, I think that,

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as regards 'scare stories' about Russia's budget,

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these stories are undoubtedly being spread by people or political 

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forces that do not want Russia to support the people who 

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reside in Donbass. This is the first thing.

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The second is we are extending such a procedure of obtaining our 

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citizenship not only to residents of the Lugansk People's Republic 

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and Donetsk People's Republic; we are thinking about simplifying 

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the procedure of granting Russian citizenship to all 

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Ukrainian citizens in general.

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As to meeting or not meeting our social obligations to our citizens 

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in Russia, there is no doubt that everything –

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social payments, pensions and pension hikes –

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will be executed. We have no doubts regarding this.

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There will be no serious burden on the Russian budget related 

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to possible setbacks in the work of Russia's social system,

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this is absolutely out of the question.

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This is not a spontaneous decision;

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before signing the executive order,

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we considered everything: the number of those who would potentially 

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seek out citizenship, including the number of pensioners 

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(about one third of this number).

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There are mostly elderly people residing in these territories today.

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Indeed, next year and in the following years this figure may reach some 

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100 billion (not in one year but over the course of several years).

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This is not a critical figure for us,

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not something that can challenge the task of fulfilling our obligations 

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to Russian pensioners.

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There is not even a slight chance of that happening.

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Now, as to the possibility of people receiving both Russian 

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and Ukrainian pensions. Theoretically,

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this is possible. Do you know the average old age pension in Ukraine? 

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It is almost three times lower than in Russia –

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anyway, this is what we can see from open sources.

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If someone receives a Ukrainian pension as well –

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   fine, this will amount to some 

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6,000 Russian rubles. If we bear in mind that these people are living 

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under fire, with shells going off in their backyards - then I believe 

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that our pensioners, many of whom went through the Great Patriotic War,

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remember it and understand what conditions these people are living in,

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will not think that here we are dealing with some kind 

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of social injustice. And we must support these people.

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Yesterday in Nur-Sultan, the Syrians yet again failed to reach 

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agreement on the composition of the constitutional committee.

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So this has been postponed until the next round,

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and a UN special representative has to be involved.

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Do you think another external factor has affected this, or,

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as the Syrian opposition claims,

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official Damascus is dictating its rules as the winning country?

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Also, could you please say why the situation in Idlib is not changing? 

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It has been six months since you and Mr Erdogan reached an agreement,

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but the situation has only been aggravated.

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Could Russia take it into its own hands? The situation 

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in Aleppo was even more complicated.

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I will single out several aspects here.

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First, you mentioned that the Syrian opposition believes that President 

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Bashar al-Assad's Government is trying to impose their will as winners.

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In that case, we should note that the opposition consider Mr al-Assad 

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and the Government as winners. And this is true, this is things stand.

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Second, I do not think that President al-Assad is imposing 

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00:17:20.647 --> 00:17:22.628
his opinion on anyone.

231
00:17:22.628 --> 00:17:26.329
We have taken active joint efforts to draw up these lists,

232
00:17:26.329 --> 00:17:31.619
but have worked particularly actively since our meeting in Istanbul,

233
00:17:31.619 --> 00:17:41.173
where we agreed that Russia was to undertake receiving a list of people 

234
00:17:41.173 --> 00:17:46.481
for this Constitutional Committee from Damascus' officials,

235
00:17:46.481 --> 00:17:50.120
while the Republic of Turkey would be responsible 

236
00:17:50.120 --> 00:17:53.721
for the list from the entire opposition.

237
00:17:53.721 --> 00:17:58.704
I should remind you that after extensive work with President al-Assad,

238
00:17:58.704 --> 00:18:03.581
his assistants and the Syrian Government,

239
00:18:03.581 --> 00:18:06.199
we received this list.

240
00:18:06.199 --> 00:18:12.980
But then it turned out that the representative of the UN 

241
00:18:12.980 --> 00:18:19.181
Secretary-General disagreed with that list as he considered a number 

242
00:18:19.181 --> 00:18:23.765
of persons presented by the opposition, six in all,

243
00:18:23.765 --> 00:18:27.077
as not meeting the interests of the opposition in a broad 

244
00:18:27.077 --> 00:18:28.788
sense of this word.

245
00:18:28.788 --> 00:18:32.779
We found this somewhat odd because we had agreed that Turkey was 

246
00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:34.945
responsible for the opposition’s list,

247
00:18:34.945 --> 00:18:37.395
and Turkey had coordinated it with us.

248
00:18:37.395 --> 00:18:42.106
If something had been wrong, then our colleagues from France,

249
00:18:42.106 --> 00:18:47.480
Germany and the United States should have told us they were 

250
00:18:47.480 --> 00:18:51.461
not comfortable with things.

251
00:18:51.461 --> 00:18:54.817
But nothing was said, and the list was simply torpedoed.

252
00:18:54.817 --> 00:18:57.394
Well, we did not take offence at that,

253
00:18:57.394 --> 00:18:59.656
we continued our efforts.

254
00:18:59.656 --> 00:19:04.995
We continued working with both Damascus and the opposition.

255
00:19:04.995 --> 00:19:08.930
We agreed to coordinate the replacement of those six individuals that 

256
00:19:08.930 --> 00:19:11.523
the opposition allegedly was not satisfied with.

257
00:19:11.523 --> 00:19:17.700
We did this too. And now we hear that someone is still unhappy with 

258
00:19:17.700 --> 00:19:21.607
something. Reaching a complete consensus is quite a challenging task 

259
00:19:21.607 --> 00:19:24.398
due to the lack of unity within the opposition with its multiple points 

260
00:19:24.398 --> 00:19:26.864
of view and diverse groups.

261
00:19:26.864 --> 00:19:32.161
It is also obvious that it is influenced from the outside.

262
00:19:32.161 --> 00:19:36.030
At the end of the day, we still need to draw a bottom line 

263
00:19:36.030 --> 00:19:40.347
and agree on this list. We are ready to continue this work.

264
00:19:40.347 --> 00:19:44.158
In any case, no one can blame President al-Assad for undermining 

265
00:19:44.158 --> 00:19:46.589
the efforts to form this committee.

266
00:19:46.589 --> 00:19:48.816
President al-Assad, Russia and, by the way,

267
00:19:48.816 --> 00:19:54.109
our Iranian partners went to great lengths to reach compromise.

268
00:19:54.109 --> 00:19:56.997
If anyone is currently seeking to derail the creation 

269
00:19:56.997 --> 00:19:59.914
of the Constitutional Committee, it is the opposition,

270
00:19:59.914 --> 00:20:01.601
which is regrettable in our view.

271
00:20:01.601 --> 00:20:05.472
Still, we will work with all opposition groups patiently 

272
00:20:05.472 --> 00:20:12.138
and persistently in order to ensure that this committee is formed since 

273
00:20:12.138 --> 00:20:15.480
this is the only way to lay the foundation 

274
00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.215
for a large-scale political process.

275
00:20:18.215 --> 00:20:23.611
As for the Idlib zone, let me reiterate what I have said on numerous 

276
00:20:23.611 --> 00:20:27.363
occasions: we need to continue to fight terrorists.

277
00:20:27.363 --> 00:20:32.657
It is in the Idlib zone that most of them are entrenched.

278
00:20:32.657 --> 00:20:35.485
If they undertake any attacks from there,

279
00:20:35.485 --> 00:20:37.310
as we see it happen every now and then,

280
00:20:37.310 --> 00:20:44.869
we will strike back at them. I think that they have already felt this.

281
00:20:44.869 --> 00:20:51.288
Is there a need at present to carry out any large-scale initiatives? 

282
00:20:51.288 --> 00:20:56.312
Before undertaking anything, we always coordinate our 

283
00:20:56.312 --> 00:20:59.289
actions with President al-Assad.

284
00:20:59.289 --> 00:21:02.345
Actually, it is he who carries out all these undertakings,

285
00:21:02.345 --> 00:21:05.567
not us. All we do is provide support, primarily from the air.

286
00:21:05.567 --> 00:21:08.946
The presence of civilians is a major factor.

287
00:21:08.946 --> 00:21:15.528
Unfortunately, civilians are oppressed by the terrorists,

288
00:21:15.528 --> 00:21:19.192
many of whom are entrenched there.

289
00:21:19.192 --> 00:21:26.595
So we need to be mindful of what the civilians oppressed 

290
00:21:26.595 --> 00:21:29.908
by the terrorists are going through,

291
00:21:29.908 --> 00:21:35.890
as well as of the possible damage caused by active combat action.

292
00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:42.517
I cannot rule this out, but together with our Syrian friends we believe 

293
00:21:42.517 --> 00:21:45.554
that this would not be advisable,

294
00:21:45.554 --> 00:21:47.936
taking into consideration the humanitarian aspect that 

295
00:21:47.936 --> 00:21:49.088
I have just described.

296
00:21:53.428 --> 00:21:59.296
I have a question on the talks you held over the past few days.

297
00:21:59.296 --> 00:22:05.909
Did you discuss with Xi Jinping the outcome of the summit meeting with 

298
00:22:05.909 --> 00:22:09.270
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this past Thursday? Is there 

299
00:22:09.270 --> 00:22:13.012
a possibility for Russia and China to put forward some kind 

300
00:22:13.012 --> 00:22:19.187
of a settlement plan for the Korean Peninsula? Have you discussed 

301
00:22:19.187 --> 00:22:24.340
the possibility of reviving six-party talks on these issues?

302
00:22:24.340 --> 00:22:29.192
I announced back in Vladivostok that I will not fail to inform our 

303
00:22:29.192 --> 00:22:32.487
Chinese partners and friends about the results of my talks with Kim 

304
00:22:32.487 --> 00:22:34.688
Jong-un in Vladivostok.

305
00:22:34.688 --> 00:22:37.723
I did it, and there is nothing unusual about it.

306
00:22:37.723 --> 00:22:42.161
We always share information with each other on talks of this kind.

307
00:22:42.161 --> 00:22:44.150
This was one of such cases.

308
00:22:44.150 --> 00:22:48.895
I briefed President Xi Jinping on these issues during our talks,

309
00:22:48.895 --> 00:22:55.233
and we exchanged views on the developments on the Korean Peninsula.

310
00:22:55.233 --> 00:23:00.057
We have a Russian-Chinese initiative that we refer 

311
00:23:00.057 --> 00:23:04.270
to as the Russian-Chinese settlement plan, a roadmap.

312
00:23:04.270 --> 00:23:07.504
We believe that its first part has been by and large implemented.

313
00:23:07.504 --> 00:23:09.659
We have to see what is written there,

314
00:23:09.659 --> 00:23:11.142
since there is nothing secret there.

315
00:23:11.142 --> 00:23:13.147
We now need to move on to the second part,

316
00:23:13.147 --> 00:23:18.277
which consists of normalising relations between the conflicting sides.

317
00:23:18.277 --> 00:23:22.343
After all, the conflicting sides have been in a state of war against 

318
00:23:22.343 --> 00:23:25.511
one another since the Korean War.

319
00:23:25.511 --> 00:23:31.053
We need to address fundamental matters and move on in order to create 

320
00:23:31.053 --> 00:23:46.870
conditions that would be an adequate security guarantee for North Korea. We have not discussed any new plans.

321
00:23:46.870 --> 00:23:49.183
It is not that we need any, since we have to implement what 

322
00:23:49.183 --> 00:23:52.144
we had already agreed upon. This is what we are doing.

323
00:23:52.144 --> 00:23:55.414
If I may change the subject a bit,

324
00:23:55.414 --> 00:23:59.488
have you been briefed on the situation with the Druzhba oil pipeline? 

325
00:23:59.488 --> 00:24:02.417
Did you have an opportunity to discuss this with Alexander Lukashenko 

326
00:24:02.417 --> 00:24:04.840
on the sidelines of this forum?

327
00:24:04.840 --> 00:24:11.147
Yes, we briefly exchanged opinions on this issue, and, of course,

328
00:24:11.147 --> 00:24:13.986
I am aware of what happened there,

329
00:24:13.986 --> 00:24:16.012
although I do not know all the details.

330
00:24:16.012 --> 00:24:19.492
In order to understand what happened there we need to investigate.

331
00:24:19.492 --> 00:24:21.972
The primary objective would be to carry out an investigation within 

332
00:24:21.972 --> 00:24:24.352
Transneft in order to identify the location from where contaminated oil 

333
00:24:24.352 --> 00:24:26.036
got into the system, why this happened,

334
00:24:26.036 --> 00:24:28.414
and what exactly was injected into the pipeline, etc. 

335
00:24:28.414 --> 00:24:31.008
This investigation is underway.

336
00:24:31.008 --> 00:24:35.282
If a corporate investigation is not enough,

337
00:24:35.282 --> 00:24:39.652
I cannot rule out a more thorough probe by our law 

338
00:24:39.652 --> 00:24:43.191
enforcement agencies and special services.

339
00:24:44.611 --> 00:24:48.411
If I may continue the oil theme,

340
00:24:48.411 --> 00:24:52.813
Donald Trump reported that he managed to persuade Saudi Arabia 

341
00:24:52.813 --> 00:24:57.162
to increase oil production. Can you comment on that?

342
00:24:57.162 --> 00:25:03.244
Also, could you comment on Maria Butina’s 18-month sentence?

343
00:25:03.244 --> 00:25:04.650
Thank you very much.

344
00:25:04.650 --> 00:25:09.075
The Foreign Ministry has already given a comment on Maria 

345
00:25:09.075 --> 00:25:11.773
Butina’s 18-month sentence.

346
00:25:11.773 --> 00:25:16.347
I think the Ministry has made it clear that this is total lawlessness.

347
00:25:16.347 --> 00:25:20.104
That is what it is. It is unclear why she was convicted or what crime 

348
00:25:20.104 --> 00:25:25.850
she had committed. I think this is a case of keeping up appearances 

349
00:25:25.850 --> 00:25:29.037
or struggling to save face.

350
00:25:29.037 --> 00:25:32.653
The girl was seized, detained, put behind bars,

351
00:25:32.653 --> 00:25:34.357
while there were no charges to be made against her.

352
00:25:34.357 --> 00:25:35.764
There was nothing to indict her for.

353
00:25:35.764 --> 00:25:40.657
However, to make sure that did not look totally absurd,

354
00:25:40.657 --> 00:25:47.385
they sentenced her to 18 months to show that she was guilty of something.

355
00:25:47.385 --> 00:25:55.393
Regarding the first part of your question on Saudi Arabia’s stance 

356
00:25:55.393 --> 00:25:57.460
on possible replacement of Iranian oil,

357
00:25:57.460 --> 00:25:59.866
which will be exiting the market.

358
00:25:59.866 --> 00:26:03.202
I actually hope that in the end, this will not happen,

359
00:26:03.202 --> 00:26:07.300
but we can talk about it hypothetically.

360
00:26:07.300 --> 00:26:11.688
As I have already said, we have agreements within the OPEK+.

361
00:26:11.688 --> 00:26:14.786
We honour our agreements.

362
00:26:14.786 --> 00:26:22.592
We have no information from our Saudi partners or anybody else,

363
00:26:22.592 --> 00:26:27.718
from OPEK members, that they are ready to scrap the agreements.

364
00:26:27.718 --> 00:26:31.614
We have not been approached on these issues.

365
00:26:37.634 --> 00:26:44.049
Moreover, I think it unlikely because it was Saudi Arabia that 

366
00:26:44.049 --> 00:26:49.615
initiated the OPEK+ agreements and engaged Russia in them.

367
00:26:49.615 --> 00:26:52.569
Good afternoon, Mr President.

368
00:26:52.569 --> 00:26:56.260
You have had a hard week – St Petersburg, Chita, Vladivostok, Beijing,

369
00:26:56.260 --> 00:26:58.559
several time zones, working under jetlag.

370
00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:01.902
Our colleagues asked Mr Peskov how Mr Putin managed to work 

371
00:27:01.902 --> 00:27:04.466
under such pressure. He jokingly said this is Putin, he does not sleep,

372
00:27:04.466 --> 00:27:07.470
he is working. But how much sleep did you get over these days?

373
00:27:07.470 --> 00:27:09.331
Six hours, six hours a day.

374
00:27:09.331 --> 00:27:10.864
And how do you manage to work under such pressure?

375
00:27:10.864 --> 00:27:12.458
It is all right. I would fall asleep,

376
00:27:12.458 --> 00:27:13.632
have five and half to six hours sleep.

377
00:27:13.632 --> 00:27:15.452
It is all right, I get enough sleep.

378
00:27:21.092 --> 00:27:26.262
When you finally appear before Vladimir Zelensky,

379
00:27:26.262 --> 00:27:29.620
what will you say to him? Thank you.

380
00:27:29.620 --> 00:27:34.523
You see, Vladimir Zelensky has not yet been canonised as a saint,

381
00:27:34.523 --> 00:27:38.566
nor is he our Lord, and I should hardly appear before him 

382
00:27:38.566 --> 00:27:39.850
in any role whatsoever.

383
00:27:39.850 --> 00:27:44.840
If we should have a meeting, have some talks launched,

384
00:27:44.840 --> 00:27:50.323
which I do not rule out, we will have to speak first of all about how 

385
00:27:50.323 --> 00:27:53.503
to end the conflict in Ukraine’s southeast.

386
00:27:53.503 --> 00:27:56.897
And as I see it, there is only one way to do it: 

387
00:27:56.897 --> 00:27:58.937
by implementing the Minsk agreements.

388
00:27:58.937 --> 00:28:04.611
Unfortunately, Mr Zelensky said prior to the election that he was not 

389
00:28:04.611 --> 00:28:06.067
going to sign a decree or executive order –

390
00:28:06.067 --> 00:28:07.200
whatever it is called in Ukraine,

391
00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:12.202
on amnesty. And secondly, he would not agree to grant a special status 

392
00:28:12.202 --> 00:28:18.312
to those territories. Both are key elements of the Minsk agreements.

393
00:28:18.312 --> 00:28:23.580
How can the issue of Lugansk and Donetsk people’s republics be resolved 

394
00:28:23.580 --> 00:28:27.045
without implementing the Minsk agreements? I would be glad to ask him 

395
00:28:27.045 --> 00:28:30.352
these questions and discuss this topic.

396
00:28:30.352 --> 00:28:35.480
You see, a large number of Ukrainians voted for him,

397
00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:37.389
I believe 74 percent.

398
00:28:37.389 --> 00:28:42.795
In my view, the people are primarily expecting from the next political 

399
00:28:42.795 --> 00:28:46.069
leadership of Ukraine a solution of exactly these problems.

400
00:28:46.069 --> 00:28:48.684
Everyone has had enough of the conflict, everyone is tired of it,

401
00:28:48.684 --> 00:28:53.719
and everyone expects from the new political leaders,

402
00:28:53.719 --> 00:28:56.793
including the president, a resolution of these issues.

403
00:28:56.793 --> 00:29:01.319
But if the future president declared from the onset that he is not 

404
00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:02.911
going to abide by the Minsk agreements,

405
00:29:02.911 --> 00:29:07.872
how is he going to solve this problem? Of course,

406
00:29:07.872 --> 00:29:11.297
I would gladly discuss the issue;

407
00:29:11.297 --> 00:29:13.621
I would like to understand his position.

408
00:29:13.621 --> 00:29:17.281
Well, that is actually all there is to it.

409
00:29:17.281 --> 00:29:20.422
Then there are economic issues.

410
00:29:20.422 --> 00:29:28.650
Will we finally sign the gas transit contract or not? Do you see what 

411
00:29:28.650 --> 00:29:31.518
the issue is about? I would rather have a separate discussion on that 

412
00:29:31.518 --> 00:29:33.883
with you, but there is no secret about it, anyway. 

413
00:29:33.883 --> 00:29:39.006
Ukraine now pays twice as much for natural gas as it could have. 

414
00:29:39.006 --> 00:29:47.360
When the opposition bloc members Medvedchuk and Boiko came 

415
00:29:47.360 --> 00:29:53.742
to Moscow, they met with Mr Miller and Prime Minister Medvedev,

416
00:29:53.742 --> 00:29:55.132
and the Russian side told them,

417
00:29:55.132 --> 00:29:58.786
“The price of gas deliveries directly from Russia will be 

418
00:29:58.786 --> 00:30:03.412
at least 25 percent lower.” Twenty-five percent.

419
00:30:03.412 --> 00:30:06.257
Do you realise that heating costs in the country rose by 1,400

420
00:30:06.257 --> 00:30:11.908
 percent in the past years? And, I believe,

421
00:30:11.908 --> 00:30:15.779
electricity rates grew by about 1,000 percent. 

422
00:30:15.779 --> 00:30:20.295
The real standard of living is plunging catastrophically.

423
00:30:20.295 --> 00:30:24.283
How can one disregard all that? How can one dismiss it?

424
00:30:24.283 --> 00:30:27.629
And if there is no transit? You understand that there will be no 

425
00:30:27.629 --> 00:30:32.404
reverse-flow deliveries since they are virtual.

426
00:30:32.404 --> 00:30:37.485
It is our gas heading to Western Europe.

427
00:30:37.485 --> 00:30:42.255
The gas pipeline was designed in the Soviet times like that –

428
00:30:42.255 --> 00:30:47.455
the transit gas pipe has offshoots to all of Ukraine.

429
00:30:47.455 --> 00:30:51.979
This matter is widely known among professionals.

430
00:30:51.979 --> 00:30:55.003
However, the general public might not understand it.

431
00:30:55.003 --> 00:30:56.815
But this is nonsense, delirium,

432
00:30:56.815 --> 00:30:59.574
cheating. There are no reverse flows.

433
00:30:59.574 --> 00:31:01.167
Here is natural gas going to Europe.

434
00:31:01.167 --> 00:31:08.902
It is impossible to run the transit to Europe in the morning while 

435
00:31:08.902 --> 00:31:15.330
at night, like thieves, flip it around into reverse.

436
00:31:15.330 --> 00:31:19.579
It is just impossible technologically. It is impossible.

437
00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:22.801
So what is really happening? Gas is flowing to Europe,

438
00:31:22.801 --> 00:31:29.594
offshoots from the transit pipes go across the whole of Ukraine.

439
00:31:29.594 --> 00:31:35.286
Gas is taken in the usual way, then it is recorded on paper 

440
00:31:35.286 --> 00:31:41.095
as reverse-flow gas. It partly goes to the neighbouring countries,

441
00:31:41.095 --> 00:31:47.000
they laid a small pipeline from there and pretend to run 

442
00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:49.726
all those volumes via it. In reality,

443
00:31:49.726 --> 00:31:54.007
there are no volumes. Imagine there is no transit.

444
00:31:54.007 --> 00:32:00.242
Then there will be no gas supplies to Ukraine. It is a grave issue.

445
00:32:00.242 --> 00:32:05.331
They are messing around, waging political warfare instead of thinking 

446
00:32:05.331 --> 00:32:11.271
about the ordinary Ukrainian citizen who has to cope with everyday 

447
00:32:11.271 --> 00:32:16.218
problems and has to pay an exorbitant price for all that 

448
00:32:16.218 --> 00:32:18.723
political trickery.

449
00:32:30.543 --> 00:32:33.503
Interfax agency.

450
00:32:33.503 --> 00:32:38.143
Does this make you an agent? If you are from an agency, and you are an employee of an agency, hence you are an agent.

451
00:32:38.143 --> 00:32:40.123
I am an agent of the agency. 

452
00:32:40.123 --> 00:32:47.163
Chinese companies agreed to purchase 20 percent in the Arctic LNG-2 project. 

453
00:32:47.163 --> 00:32:50.043
Two companies, 10 percent each.

454
00:32:50.043 --> 00:32:59.363
Will it not affect the speed of the talks on new agreements to supply China with pipeline gas under the Sila Sibiri-2 project and via the Far Eastern route?

455
00:32:59.363 --> 00:33:02.023
Certainly not. Just the contrary. No, not at all. 

456
00:33:02.023 --> 00:33:15.743
The Arctic LNG is a new project. It will be carried out over the course of several years and the amounts of natural gas required by China are truly enormous. 

457
00:33:15.743 --> 00:33:23.023
Moreover, our Chinese partners are now asking us to consider the possibility of increasing supplies 

458
00:33:23.023 --> 00:33:27.443
via the Sila Sibiri gas pipeline, which we will be put into operation at the end of this year.

459
00:33:27.443 --> 00:33:31.463
This is possible technologically and we will do it.

460
00:33:31.463 --> 00:33:39.563
Arctic LNG is liquefied gas and we have no problems with it at all. This is a new field. 

461
00:33:39.563 --> 00:33:46.849
We will carry out all supplies from the old fields and will even try to have enough at home. 

462
00:33:46.849 --> 00:33:55.403
Our domestic problem is that the European part has been supplied with gas since the Soviet times but there was nothing in the East.

463
00:33:55.403 --> 00:34:02.938
Our task is to develop a gas infrastructure in the eastern part of Russia, beyond the Urals, and then to link these systems 

464
00:34:02.938 --> 00:34:10.799
– the western and eastern parts so as to be able to do crossflows and operate simultaneously both inside and outside the country, being very flexible in supplying the foreign market. 

465
00:34:10.799 --> 00:34:20.411
Depending on the requirements, we would send gas to Europe or more to the East, if the demand is bigger.  

466
00:34:20.411 --> 00:34:20.411
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467
00:34:20.411 --> 00:34:20.411
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468
00:34:20.411 --> 00:34:20.411
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469
00:34:20.411 --> 00:34:20.411
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470
00:34:20.411 --> 00:34:30.563
We have now doubled LNG supplies fairly quickly. But we have ambitious goals. 

471
00:34:30.563 --> 00:34:36.723
 We want to bring them to 100 million tonnes. The world market will swallow it and ask for more.

472
00:34:36.723 --> 00:34:52.203
Therefore, we have no doubt at all that we will meet all our commitments on pipeline gas and will increase our LNG production as well.

473
00:34:53.903 --> 00:34:59.203
All right, one final question and we will go. 

474
00:34:59.203 --> 00:35:05.405
Mr President, here is my question.

475
00:35:05.405 --> 00:35:09.521
There is a big plan for the development of the Arctic and a ban 

476
00:35:09.521 --> 00:35:13.334
for private oil and gas companies to drill in the Arctic.

477
00:35:13.334 --> 00:35:14.986
Has LUKOIL incited you to ask this question?

478
00:35:14.986 --> 00:35:20.356
No, not at all. I am just interested whether it is worth allowing them 

479
00:35:20.356 --> 00:35:24.892
to drill in order to increase trade along the Northern Sea Route.

480
00:35:24.892 --> 00:35:28.624
Or will we cope without it and achieve 80 million tonnes anyway?

481
00:35:28.624 --> 00:35:29.851
We are discussing this with our colleagues,

482
00:35:29.851 --> 00:35:31.837
including those from private companies.

483
00:35:31.837 --> 00:35:35.721
This is really a very serious and important question.

484
00:35:35.721 --> 00:35:40.655
It is not that companies with state participation like Gazprom 

485
00:35:40.655 --> 00:35:44.539
or Rosneft are unable to do this and find these resources.

486
00:35:44.539 --> 00:35:51.307
As you know, when something is done for the market and when a project 

487
00:35:51.307 --> 00:35:55.985
is obviously beneficial economically,

488
00:35:55.985 --> 00:35:59.053
it is not difficult to find the funding.

489
00:35:59.053 --> 00:36:01.911
It is impossible to shut it down with any restrictions.

490
00:36:01.911 --> 00:36:04.641
They will be pleased to come and do it.

491
00:36:04.641 --> 00:36:07.757
But the question is not to produce more,

492
00:36:07.757 --> 00:36:10.148
although we are facing this task.

493
00:36:10.148 --> 00:36:15.673
Why have we agreed to work together with the Saudis and our other 

494
00:36:15.673 --> 00:36:21.532
friends from OPEC? Because we realise that we need to keep the market 

495
00:36:21.532 --> 00:36:24.897
in check and pursue some coordinated price policy.

496
00:36:24.897 --> 00:36:26.806
The same is true of gas.

497
00:36:26.806 --> 00:36:31.576
There is not much difference, it is a demand-and-supply issue.

498
00:36:31.576 --> 00:36:37.687
Of course, these are costly projects both in oil and gas,

499
00:36:37.687 --> 00:36:44.995
but we must calculate how effective the investment will be,

500
00:36:44.995 --> 00:36:51.649
how the market will respond and whether it can accept such amounts 

501
00:36:51.649 --> 00:36:57.310
without a sharp drop in price. This is the whole problem.

502
00:36:57.310 --> 00:37:04.635
This is not about us artificially excluding domestic private companies.

503
00:37:04.635 --> 00:37:09.581
No, we will reach agreement with them if we see that they are ready 

504
00:37:09.581 --> 00:37:11.545
to cope with such projects.

505
00:37:11.545 --> 00:37:15.619
Let me repeat that these projects are capital intensive.

506
00:37:15.619 --> 00:37:19.256
You know that Gazprom and Rosneft are real giants.

507
00:37:19.256 --> 00:37:26.288
It will be even more difficult for smaller companies to attract funds.

508
00:37:26.288 --> 00:37:29.648
But we do not say that we will not involve them in this work,

509
00:37:29.648 --> 00:37:33.284
either. Maybe, we will do this together with companies with state 

510
00:37:33.284 --> 00:37:34.833
participation. We do not rule out anything.

511
00:37:34.833 --> 00:37:38.341
The only question is when the market will be ready for this,

512
00:37:38.341 --> 00:37:40.870
when we will be prepared for this technologically and when it will make 

513
00:37:40.870 --> 00:37:45.775
sense economically. The economic aspect is the most important one.

514
00:37:45.775 --> 00:37:49.120
Thank you very much. I wish you all the best.