Vladimir Putin has claimed Russian businessmen are being persecuted in countries like Britain and should keep their money at home.
The President was speaking during a live televised phone-in with the Russian people as he answered a question about visa problems experienced by billionaire Roman Abramovich in Britain.
Putin said he had advised business people to keep their assets inside Russia and said that pressure on Russian businessmen was undermining trust in Western countries.
The Kremlin leader also described new U.S. steel tariffs against its long-term allies as unjustified sanctions – adding that other countries thought such measures by America ‘would never affect them’.
U.S. President Donald Trump enraged Canada and other American allies last week by imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and threatening to do the same with imported cars and trucks.
Vladimir Putin (pictured today) has claimed Russian businessmen are being persecuted in Britain and should keep their money at home
The president (right) was speaking during a live televised phone-in with the Russian people as he answered a question about visa problems experienced by billionaire Roman Abramovich (left) in Britain
Speaking Thursday about the move, Putin described the tariffs as ‘sanctions,’ saying that countries which have imposed restrictions on Russia for the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula are now going to see what they feel like on their own skin.
‘Did they annex Crimea?’ Putin asked during his annual phone-in show, referring to Canada and Mexico.
He also addressed the Sergei Skripal case, saying he did not think the ex-Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent, because they survived the attack.
British authorities blamed Russia for the March poisoning in the English city of Salisbury of the pair with a Soviet-designed nerve agent dubbed Novichok. The Skripals were in critical condition for weeks before recovering.
Asked about the poisoning during his annual call-in show on Thursday, Putin said he does not want to comment on the cause of their illness and said Russia is still seeking consular access to both of them and to their case files.
Putin, who won a landslide re-election victory in March, has taken part in the annual phone-in since 2001, using it to cast himself as a decisive troubleshooter on the home front and as a staunch defender of Russia’s interests on the world stage.
Critics say the event, which is being held days before Russia hosts the soccer World Cup, is a stage-managed piece of theatre designed to let Russians let off steam and fleetingly feel like they can influence a bureaucratic top-down system.
Putin and his aides say it is an indispensable tool to gauge public sentiment and learn what people’s real problems are.
Putin, who won a landslide re-election victory in March, has taken part in the annual phone-in since 2001, using it to cast himself as a decisive troubleshooter on the home front and as a staunch defender of Russia’s interests on the world stage
The 65-year-old politician used the event last year to pledge to eradicate spiralling poverty, fielding almost 70 questions in just under four hours in an event that Kremlin watchers often liken to a tsar listening to his petitioners.
Members of the public have submitted over 1.4 million questions, Russian news agencies reported, many of them visible on a special website set up for the event.
Here are some of the highlights from his question and answer session:
ON SERGEI AND YULIA SKRIPAL
‘If as Britain insists a military chemical agent was used against these people, they would have died within second or minutes, on the spot. Thank God, this did not happen. Clearly we are dealing with something other than a military agent.’
‘We would like to be given access to our citizens, to Yulia, and we would like to have the opportunity to take part fully in the investigation.’
ON THE PROSPECT OF A THIRD WORLD WAR
‘The understanding that a third world war could be the end of civilisation should restrain us from taking extreme steps on the international arena that are highly dangerous for modern civilisation.’
‘The threat of mutual destruction has always restrained participants of the international arena, prevented leading military powers from making hasty moves, and compelled participants to respect each other. U.S. withdrawal from treaties on anti-ballistic missiles is an attempt to put an end to strategic parity, but we will respond to this.’
‘We believe that the unilateral introduction of all kinds of sanctions does not resolve problems, it only worsens them.’
Members of the public have submitted over 1.4 million questions, Russian news agencies reported, many of them visible on a special website set up for the event
ON SANCTIONS
‘This is a method by which to restrain Russia, the notorious sanctions, because endless accusations lay the groundwork for introducing restraining measures.’
‘It is because Russia is seen as a threat, because Russia is seen as becoming a competitor. I believe this approach is mistaken. Instead of restraining whoever it would be better to establish constructive cooperation, and then the overall effect on the global economy would be positive.’
‘It is clear to us that we have to defend our interests, and to do so consistently, not boorishly or rudely, in both the sphere of the economy and of defence. We have done so and we will continue to do so, but we always look for compromises, we aspire towards those compromises. The pressure will end when our partners will be persuaded that the methods they are using are ineffective, counterproductive and harmful to all.’
ON BALTIC STATES
‘When it comes to the position of our compatriots in the countries of the Baltic, we are constantly talking about this, bringing it to the attention of the governments of the Baltic states, including Latvia⦠The measures that we take to protect the interests of our compatriots must be such that they do not actually worsen their situation.’
ON OTHER STATES’ APPROACH TO U.S. SANCTIONS
‘This is an important part of the negotiation process with the leaders of France, Germany, also with our Austrian friends, where I was visiting just now, and with the representatives of many other European countries, let alone Asia. They don’t just say this privately now, they are talking about this publicly.’
‘It appears, our partners thought that this would never affect them, this counterproductive politics of restrictions and sanctions. But now we are seeing that this is happening.’
Critics say the event, which is being held days before Russia hosts the soccer World Cup, is a stage-managed piece of theatre designed to let Russians let off steam and fleetingly feel like they can influence a bureaucratic top-down system
ON THE SOCCER WORLD CUP
‘With regards to the infrastructure, these 11 stadiums. Of course, we spent a lot of money on this and it is imperative that all of this infrastructure, I completely agree, it must work and above all work towards the development of sport on a large scale, including children’s sport.’
‘I would like right now to address my colleagues in the regions, to ask them to not allow, under any circumstances, for flea markets and the like to appear at these stadiums, as appeared in other sport-related buildings in Moscow during the middle of the 1990s.’
‘I think our Russian Football Union must play an active part in this⦠and develop a new generation of sportsmen and soccer players.’
‘Even though our national team has not demonstrated strong results recently, but the number of fans of this beautiful sport here is massive, it’s in the millions. We will rely on the fact that our soccer team will score a big win, so to speak, and will show its best qualities.’
ON THE ECONOMY
‘Overall, we are moving in the right direction. What is the basis for saying this? We have started on the trajectory towards robust economic growth in Russia. Yes, this growth is humble, small, but it is also not a fall. Growth was at 1.5 percent last year.’
‘Not everyone feels this personally but overall, this is an objective statistic. That’s how it is, it is the truth. Export in technical equipment is growing, which shows that some structural changes are going on in the economy. Export of agricultural produce, at 20 billion last year, was higher than defence exports, which were at 15 billion.’
Putin and his aides say the phone-in is an indispensable tool to gauge public sentiment and learn what people’s real problems are
ON TAXES
‘Based on our preliminary calculations, we may in the next six years spend 17 billion roubles, but to achieve the goals that we have discussed, we will need an additional 8 trillion roubles. And it is clear where we are going to find them.’
‘Firstly, it is through the growth of the economy itself, that’s the main source of additional resources. It is also the more effective use of existing resources, adjustment in some senses of our macro-economic plans and of course adjustments to our tax policy.’
‘Stability of tax policy must be absolutely guaranteed for the next six years.’
‘Many suggest changing the personal income tax. We thought about this for a long time. At first glance, progressive personal income tax seems and looks to be fairer⦠But reality is more complicated than theories and formulas.’
‘We had such a tax â a tax on revenue. This is a serious strain on the economy overall and in the end on citizens, because it inevitably leads to a rise in inflation. All this convinced us that introducing this was also not expedient.’
ON THE NEW GOVERNMENT
‘The thing is, the development plan which we have been discussing in recent years, it was being prepared by the previous government during at least the past one and a half years. I know full well that if we were to replace the entire government 100 percent, and bring in totally new people⦠we would have lost at least two years, and we do not have those two years.’
‘But it was also necessary to keep those, who made the decisions for our country’s progress. And to personalize responsibility for what has been done so far and for what is coming up soon.’
‘I think that we have an optimal make up of government for today.’
ON GASOLINE PRICES
‘What is going on right now, it is unacceptable, it is wrong. However, it must be admitted that it is the result of inaccurate regulation, that was brought in recently in the sphere of energy, in energy resources.’
‘By the autumn of this year, additional measures should be introduced which will stabilize the situation on the market. I am basing this on the fact that the government will be monitoring this carefully.’
RUSSIAN ENERGY MINISTER ALEXANDER NOVAK
‘Agreements have been reached at the government level with all companies to increase the production of oil products and on deliveries to the domestic market to not permit a deficit.’
‘Additionally, we have worked out a series of measures aimed at stabilization. I am referring to the possibility of introducing export tariffs by the Russian government on deliveries of oil products for export. A law has been prepared on this and we will be ready to present it to parliament in the near future, and will ask parliament to support it.’
RUSSIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER DMITRY KOZAK
‘We are introducing the possibility for government to raise export tariffs on motor fuel and to make it equal to tariffs on oil exports. We really hope we will now have to put it to use.’
Putin responded: ‘I will support this.’