On Thursday, Putin held his annual meeting for specially invited guests and the press in the Gostiny Dvor market hall in central Moscow. For a long time, people have been able to submit questions. When the TV broadcast started on Thursday, 2.5 million questions had been received from all over the country. After almost two years of war in Ukraine, or “the military special operation” as he calls it, Putin says that Russia’s goals have not changed. Confirmed numbers of civilians killed in the war in Ukraine have passed 10,000, according to the UN Human Rights Office. It is assumed that the real number is much higher, writes NTB. – Peace will come when we reach our goals. And let me repeat our goals: It is “de-Nazification”, demilitarization and a neutral status for Ukraine, Putin said. Sticking to the Nazi image news’s correspondent in Russia, Gro Holm, has followed Putin’s meeting with the press and the Russian people today. – Here Putin portrays the war in Ukraine as a continuation of the war against Nazi Germany and refers, among other things, to the fact that Stepan Bandera is celebrated as a national hero in Ukraine, says Holm. She also says that Putin highlighted the episode where a former SS officer was applauded in the Canadian National Assembly when Zelenskyj was present. An incident that both Ukrainian and Canadian authorities have admitted was a mistake. – When it comes to demilitarization, Putin believes that Ukraine cannot have armed forces capable of fighting Russia. It is about, among other things, that Ukraine should not become a member of NATO and that there should be no foreign forces on Ukrainian territory, says news’s Russia correspondent. Putin also took the opportunity to reiterate that he is standing as a candidate in the presidential election in March next year, which he announced on Friday. – No need for new mobilization The Russian president says that around 486,000 soldiers have so far been recruited into the army fighting in Ukraine, which amounts to around 1,500 a day. – When we reach the end of the year, we will have recruited around 500,000 people for the army, so we do not need a new round of mobilisation, states Putin. He says that Russia currently has 617,000 soldiers fighting in Ukraine along the 2,000-kilometer front. According to Putin, the contracts for the soldiers are signed for 3-4 years at a time. Tight direction There are 17 large TV screens in the hall where the press conference is held. Questions continuously scroll across the screens. It is the Kremlin’s own press spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who decides who in the room gets to speak. Putin addresses the questions relayed by two trusted journalists sitting next to him, plus questions from the audience. Most are Russian journalists, but some foreign ones have also turned up. Among them are the BBC, Sky News, American NBC, French TV and the New York Times. None of the British journalists are allowed to speak. The questions scroll across the screen, but Putin only deals with the questions chosen by two trusted journalists. Photo: VLADIMIR GERDO / AFP Putin receives questions from the New York Times about journalist Evan Gershkovich (Wall Street Journal), who has spent a long time in prison. – You say that he is in prison without trial, but you also say that the imprisonment has been extended. It does not happen without a court ruling. He is imprisoned because he has broken Russian law. We have to find an agreement, and we are in dialogue with the American authorities, Putin replies. He adds that the dialogue is not easy, but that he hopes they will find a solution. Another question goes to Moldova: – How do you see the integration into the post-Soviet territory and Moldova’s partial withdrawal from the SUS (Commonwealth of Independent States – a loose union of some former Soviet states). – It is entirely based on volunteerism. If Moldova does not want to participate, then it is the choice of the leadership of Moldova. It is one of the poorest countries in Europe. If they want to follow Germany’s example and buy energy at 30 percent higher prices, then that is their business, Putin replies. Moldova has withdrawn from three agreements on energy cooperation, and from two agreements related to goods deliveries and cooperation on border control. – Here he is trying to remind Moldova that there is a cost to not being friends with Russia, says Gro Holm. – How would you say that Putin presented himself today? – He has no advisers by his side. He answers quite superbly, very detailed. This is a man who has been in power since the year 2000. For the last 20 years he has been either president or prime minister. He appears safe and secure. At the same time, he seemed a little tired, less humorous than he used to be, says Holm. On Thursday afternoon, it also became clear that the EU will open membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Increased economic growth Putin is asked by the presenter what Russia can be proud of in terms of economy, whereupon Putin takes out a yellow folder and proudly produces an economic overview. – We expect GDP growth of 3.5 per cent, last year it was 2.9, so it is solid progress. There is particular growth in the processing industry. Unfortunately, inflation is around 7.5 per cent at the end of the year, perhaps up to 8 per cent. But even with this inflation, we have real wage growth, says Putin to the presenter. Putin was very pleased with the figures he could present on the Russian economy. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP He adds that industrial production has grown by 3.6 per cent and that production in general should have grown by 7.5 per cent and invested capital by 10 per cent. – This means that we ensure the sustainability of the economy. And unemployment is at a low 2.9 per cent, says the president. Life expectancy in Russia last year was 70 years, this year it is expected to be 73. Holm points out that Putin emphasizes what there are of positive signals. – He says that only 2.9 percent unemployment is positive, but the truth is that Russia lacks workers, several million workers. Everything from cleaners to IT specialists, engineers and teachers, says Holm. She says that the explanation for this is partly that several hundred thousand men have been sent to the war, and partly that several hundred thousand younger workers have left the country. At the same time, there are fewer migrant workers from Central Asia and the Caucasus, because they receive less foreign currency for the rubles they earn. Many local issues Many of the questions that people had submitted were about local matters of the heart. A journalist from Siberia wanted to know when the authorities intend to extend a stretch of road between Tyumen and Novosibirsk, where many accidents occur. She also reminded that they need to upgrade the airport in Omsk. Putin could not promise quick money, but promised to convey the wishes to the Ministry of Transport. The president agreed that a railway is needed between the Siberian metropolis of Yakutia and China. But he also said that planned sections must be completed first. A journalist from Buryatia wanted to know if they could get federal money for an oriental medicine center. Her argument was that the region has contributed a lot to the rehabilitation of injured soldiers. Buryatia has sent far more soldiers to Ukraine than its population would indicate. But here too, Putin could not promise money for what he described as a good initiative. The EU discusses Ukraine Putin’s meeting was held in parallel with the EU’s leaders sitting in Brussels and discussing continued support for Ukraine, and the country’s chances of becoming an EU member. Putin used the press conference to note that Ukraine’s support from abroad appears to be weakening. Just before the meeting in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: – It is very important that a clear signal of support for Ukraine is sent from here. The signal is also aimed at Russia’s president, who needs to know that he cannot count on the EU to relax its support for Ukraine, Scholz told the press on the way into the meeting. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will give a clear signal to Putin that Ukraine still has the EU’s support. Photo: MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP Since 2001, Putin has held an annual meeting with the press and the people where viewers can call in and journalists ask questions. They can often last for several hours. The exception was last year, when it was canceled following Russian decline on the battlefield.
ttn-69
Putin: Peace in Ukraine will come when we achieve our goals – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
