On September 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a press conference following the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand. The head of state spoke on the most pressing topics on the world agenda. The main thing is in the material of Izvestia.
Liberation of Donbass
Putin paid special attention to the topic of a special military operation to protect Donbass in his communication with journalists. Explaining its reasons, he pointed out that for decades the idea of the collapse of both the Soviet Union and historical Russia had been cultivated in Western countries.
“The fact that they have always sought the disintegration of our country is for sure. It is only regrettable that at some point the idea arose to use Ukraine to achieve these goals. In order to prevent such a development of events, we launched a special operation. This is exactly what some Western countries, led by the United States, are striving for and striving for – to create such an anti-Russian enclave and shake, threaten Russia from this direction, ”the Russian leader said.
According to the head of state, Russia does not stop the offensive in the Donbass and continues to occupy new territories. At the same time, he spoke skeptically about the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
“The Kyiv authorities have announced that they have launched and are conducting an active counter-offensive operation. Well, let’s see how it will develop, how it will end,” Putin said.
The President assured that Russia does not deviate from its path and continues to achieve its goals, the main of which is the liberation of Donbass.
“The NWO plan is not subject to adjustment. The General Staff makes operational decisions in the course of the operation, considers something to be the key, main goal, and the main goal is the liberation of the entire territory of Donbass,” Putin said.
At the same time, he stressed that not the entire Russian army, but only its contractual part, takes part in the hostilities.
Peace negotiations
Putin also noted that Russia is ready to start peace talks, but the Ukrainian authorities, led by President Vladimir Zelensky, are evading them.
“The first condition is that they agree. They don’t want to. Mr. Zelensky announced, publicly said that he is not ready and does not want to talk with Russia. Well, if you’re not ready, you don’t have to,” the Russian president said.
On the same day, Putin held a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the SCO summit, and as a result, the Russian leader for the first time in a long time did not receive an offer from him to organize a meeting with Zelensky.
“Erdogan is indeed making a serious contribution to solving a number of serious issues that arise around this crisis. And it goes without saying that he also proposes a meeting with President Zelensky, believing that it can lead to some positive result. At this meeting, he did not talk about it, ”Putin said.
The platform for negotiations could be the G20 summit, which will be held in Indonesia, but Putin has not yet decided whether he will attend in person.
“I’ll see, I’ve already been to Bali, Bali itself is a good, beautiful place. But it’s not about beauty. We will see how the situation develops in the economy and in other areas. I have an invitation to visit the G20. The president of the host country told me about this himself, personally, when he was in Moscow. Then he called again and said, “Keep in mind that there is some pressure, but I have a tough position, we want to see you at this summit,” the President of the Russian Federation said.
Terror threats
Speaking about the situation in Ukraine, Putin stressed the high terrorist threat faced by Russia and its citizens. He mentioned that nuclear facilities in the country were also in danger.
“As for terrorist attacks, yes, this is a serious thing. We see this in the killings of officials in the liberated territories. We see this even in attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation, including – I don’t know if there was public information on this matter – even attempts to carry out terrorist attacks, if not at the facilities themselves, then around our nuclear facilities, nuclear power plants, ”said head of state.
Putin assured that the special services are in control of the situation and do not allow negative developments. He promised that if unacceptable methods were used, Russia would find an answer to them.
“As for our restrained reaction, I would not say that it is so restrained. A special operation is not just another warning. But in the course of it, of course, we see attempts to carry out some terrorist acts, attempts to damage our infrastructure. Indeed, we are quite restrained in our response to this, but for the time being,” the President warned.
Sanctions
When it came to sanctions, Putin criticized the actions of Western countries, including personal restrictions that were imposed on Russian citizens. He called sanctions on minor children of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov schizophrenia. He was also surprised that children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova was on the US black list.
“As we know, she was involved in the removal of our children from the war zones, from Syria and Iraq, children who remained there due to various circumstances, against their will, of course. This is a noble mission, she is risking her life and health, of course, a normal thing when she took children out of the war zone, from dangerous zones in the Donbass. What’s wrong here? I need to thank her for this and bow low. Putting them under sanctions is outrageous,” the Russian leader said.
He also spoke negatively about sanctions against Russian fertilizers and grains. According to the president, such actions are at odds with the statements of European officials about the inadmissibility of a food crisis.
“This is generally unprecedented, this is an ugly decision, I would say, on the part of the European Commission, simply shameful. Remove the ban on the purchase of our fertilizers, but only for their own countries, for the EU member states. What about the poorest countries in the world? How about the rhetoric that all of our joint efforts should be aimed at preventing hunger in these poorest countries? Is this all a bluff?” Putin asked.
Economy
Touching upon the economic topic, Putin noted that cooperation with the SCO countries creates conditions for the development of the Russian economy and the solution of its social problems.
“The economies of the countries of the region, the countries that are members of the SCO, are developing at rates much higher than the world ones. 7% GDP growth in India, more than 5% in China. And China has been a leader for quite a long time, the potential is huge. The volume of trade we have with them is growing rapidly. If such rates continue, then we should be among these countries, next to them, ensuring our interests,” the head of state said.
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