Pravda.ru / Russia

Originally, the program was supposed to be approved in 2016, but the president postponed its adoption for two years due to the unstable economic situation

During Putin's annual Q&A conference with journalists, a Ukrainian correspondent asked Putin about the fate of the Russians, who are being held captive or convicted in Ukraine for their participation in the conflict in the Donbass. The journalist stated that Russian troops are staying on the territory of the Donbass to kill Ukrainian citizens rather than to regulate the armed conflict. The journalist asked the Russian president whether he was going to change his policy towards the Donbass in the event of victory in the upcoming presidential election.Another journalist asked Putin a question about Mikhail Saakashvili's political activity in Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk agreements.Putin at first answered the second question тв said that the situation with Mikhail Saakashvili (former President of Georgia and former governor of the Odessa region of Ukraine) was a spit in the face of the Ukrainian people. "What Saakashvili is doing is like spitting in the face of the Georgian people and in the face of the Ukrainian people," Putin said. "He used to be the president of the independent Georgian state, but now he rushes around squares and screams to the whole world: I'm Ukrainian. Aren't there real Ukrainians in Ukraine? Ukraine turns a blind eye on all this, and it's pitiful to look at all this," the president added.According to Putin, the Minsk format on the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine is of low efficiency because of Kiev's unconstructive position. "They have no desire to implement the agreements and start a real political process, the completion of which can result in the implementation of the treaty on the special status of the Donbass, which is registered in the relevant law of Ukraine that the parliament has adopted, but the law has never been put into force under various pretexts," Putin said.Afterwards, Putin said that there were no Russian troops on the territory of the Donbass. According to him, there are local formations there capable of repelling military actions. "There are certain military militia groups there that are self-sufficient and are ready to repel any large-scale military actions against the Donbass," the Russian president said. "We believe that this corresponds to the  interests of those people who live there, because if they have no such opportunity, so-called nationalist battalions will arrange a massacre there that will be even worse that the one in Srebrenica. "As for the tragedy that is happening there, one should always look at the source of it. The source is a coup d'état and unconstitutional seizure of power. As we know, some of the Ukrainian people did not agree with this, but they started to destroy the dissenters, despite Ukraine's alleged aspiration to the European civilisation," the Russian president said. According to him, all that was done with the help of special services and then armed forces.Putin touched upon the topic of exchanging detainees with Ukraine, but noted that Ukraine constantly changes the list of people for exchange. He said that the process of exchanging detainees was stopped on the initiative of Kiev. Putin urged Ukrainian President Poroshenko to finish this process before the arrival of 2018. Russians and Ukrainians are one people, as they have common historical, spiritual and other roots, Putin said. Pravda.Ru

"There are certain military militia groups there that are self-sufficient and are ready to repel any large-scale military actions against the Donbass," the Russian president said

On December 14, President Putin holds his annual Q&A session with Russian and foreign journalists. This conference is considered to be the beginning of his presidential campaign after Putin announced his decision to run for president again. Traditionally, Putin starts such sessions with a speech about Russia's economic achievements. This conference, however, is different, because questions started at once. President Vladimir Putin will participate in the 2018 presidential election in Russia as a self-nominated candidate."Of course, I very much count on the support of the political forces that share my views on the development of the country, that trust me - in general, I count on broad support of citizens," President Putin said at a televised Q&A session with Russian and foreign journalists. The president did not answer the question of who will be appointed the head of his campaign headquarters. "No final decision has been made yet," Putin said, adding that this is a "technical decision, of course." Putin said.When asked why Putin is going to run again and what would be his mission, the president replied that Russia should be aimed at the future, and its political system should be flexible. Putin did not want to talk about the political program, noting that he practically has it already. "The main thing is to focus the attention of the authorities and the society on the development of infrastructure, healthcare, education, high technologies, productivity increase - but all this should be aimed at increasing people's incomes," Putin said.Answering the question of why Russia still does not have politician No. 2, and whether Putin is bored to run for this election, the president said that the political environment should be competitive. He wants to have a balanced political system which is impossible without competition. Yet, he added, Russian opposition activists are not competition to the current authorities because of Russia's specific peculiarities. "I cannot raise a competitor myself," the president joked.Speaking about those peculiarities, Putin switched to comparing Russia's economic indicators today to those from the late 1990s. According to him, real wages and pensions have grown in Russia since the 2000s."Real wages have fallen in Russia as a result of the crisis phenomena of recent years, but since the beginning of the 2000s, real wages have grown 3.5 times, and real pensions - 3.6 times," the head of state said."When we talk about opposition, it is important not only to talk about the regime, but to offer improvements," Putin said. "If we compare what opposition leaders offer, doubts arise. One does not need to propose a shrilling agenda, but a real one, in which people would believe," Putin said.Answering a question about Russia's defence spending and its possible influence on social benefits, President Putin said that Russia would be ensuring its security without taking part in an arms race. "Our defence spending is balanced, because we need to ensure our country's security, but it should not lead to the destruction of the economy. Next year, defence expenditures of the budget will make up about 2.8% of GDP. This is a bit more than 46 billions of dollars. In the United States, they signed a law about the defence spending of 700 billion dollars, but of course, 46 billion is a lot for Russia," Putin said and continued with a joke: "A father officer asks his son: "Have you seen my dagger?" "I've swapped it for a watch," the son replied. The father looked at the watch and said: "It's beautiful ... But what if gangsters come here tomorrow, they will kill me, your mother, rape your sister - what are you going to do? Are you going to come to them and say: "Good evening, it's 12:30 in Moscow?" Therefore, Putin proceeded, Russia needs to strengthen its defense capability and the country will spend enough on military needs. Pravda.Ru

On December 14, President Putin holds his annual Q&A session with Russian and foreign journalists. This conference is considered to be the beginning of his presidential campaign

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