At the end of the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Headley Gamble, a journalist for the American TV channel CNBC. He answered a question about a possible successor, explaining that this topic has not yet been discussed, but the Constitution of the Russian Federation allows the head of state to run for a new term. The text of the interview is given on the official website The Kremlin.
In July, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to remain head of state “as long as possible,” as Russia will become even stronger under him.
Putin commented on the situation in the Middle East, relations with OPEC + partners. He noted that this is a very promising region of the world, the leadership of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is trying to diversify their economies and are purposefully achieving results for the future.
Russia, in turn, is making attempts to stabilize the world energy market, defending its positions and finding solutions that are joint and acceptable to all parties.
Earlier, Putin admitted that oil could rise in price to $ 100 per barrel. He added that Russia does not seek to restrict oil production so that the cost “rises to the skies.” According to the president, all actions on the energy market should be “smooth and balanced.”
Putin assessed the likelihood of oil contracts appearing not in dollars, but in cryptocurrencies. In his opinion, it is too early to talk about this, since it is too unstable instrument to become a unit of account.
Earlier it became known that Russia took the third place in the world in terms of bitcoin mining. The country’s share in global production from September 2019 to August 2021 almost doubled – from 5.9 percent to 11.2 percent. The share of Russia increased significantly in June, when the volume of mining in the leading country – China – sharply decreased due to the actions of the authorities.
The President said that the United States is making a very big mistake by using the dollar as a sanctions instrument. He explained that this leads to settlements in other currencies. In addition, countries that use the dollar as a reserve currency, looking at what is happening, are worried that the United States might do the same for them. Therefore, they try to use it less as a unit of account and reduce their share in reserves.
Putin pointed out that the dollar is undermining its position as the world’s reserve currency. According to him, Russia is not yet interested in a complete withdrawal from the dollar, but if such a policy continues, confidence in American money will be undermined. In addition, the US national debt is growing, emissions and inflation are growing, questions arise about the future of this currency, what manipulations Washington will perform to cover this debt, the head of state added.
The president said he considers Chinese leader Xi Jinping his friend. He noted that the heads of state have been working together for many years and achieve results in politics and economy.
He also added that the creation of the AUKUS bloc – an alliance of Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom – undermines international stability, since “being friends against someone” is bad. Putin expressed the hope that the situation will not cause additional tension in the Asia-Pacific region.
Journalist Headley Gamble noted that there are many problems: inflation, stagnation, AUKUS, the South China Sea, Afghanistan, they are pouring in like a cornucopia. She asked Putin to identify the most serious one.
The President noted that the solution to this problem includes a whole range of social issues, such as health care, education, support for families with children. He stressed that for this, national development goals were outlined, which Russia intends to pursue in the near future.
Earlier, at a meeting with deputies of the new Duma, Putin said that the country’s main enemy is the low incomes of millions of citizens. The Russian leader believes that low incomes threaten the stable development of the state. In the next three years, 41.5 trillion rubles are expected to be allocated for social support of citizens, Putin said. He also added that it is necessary to form an integral system of support for families with children.