The second
part of Vladimir Putin's interview to TASS News Agency has been
published.
The 20 Questions with Vladimir Putin project
is an interview with the President of Russia
on the most topical subjects of social and political life
in Russia and the world. Total recording time is 3.5 hours.
February
21, 2020
15:00
Ukraine
(Interview to TASS News Agency)
Andrei
Vandenko: The next subject is Ukraine.
Have
you seen the ”Servant of the People“ series?
Vladimir
Putin: No.
Andrei
Vandenko: Even the segment when president Goloborodko is choosing
a wristwatch like Putin's?
Vladimir
Putin: I haven't seen it. I don't know either Goloborodko
or who is choosing what there. I haven't seen it.
Andrei
Vandenko: Ok. Though a very interesting pair forms: a galley
slave and a servant of the people.
Vladimir
Putin: As you know, whatever goes around comes around. Ultimately,
it’s not how you call yourself, it’s what you do and how you do it.
Andrei
Vandenko: Is there a chance that you come to terms with
Zelensky?
Vladimir Putin: What about?
Andrei
Vandenko: About peace, about friendship.
Vladimir Putin: Hope is the last thing to die. Yes, there is
a chance. But unfortunately, after his return from Paris he started talking
about the necessity to revise the Minsk Agreements. This begs
the question.
Nevertheless,
we managed to agree on the exchange of detained persons
and we now managed to agree on gas.
Andrei
Vandenko: Does the fact that today we are not friends with Ukraine
represent a loss for us?
Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course, but as I have repeatedly said
I believe that we are one and the same people.
Andrei
Vandenko: The Ukrainians don't like it very much either.
Vladimir Putin: I don't know whether they like this or not but if you
look at the reality that is true. You see, we had no difference
in our languages until the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
And only
as a result of Polonization, the part
of the Ukrainians who lived in the territory under
the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, only around the 16th century
the first language differences appeared. In general,
the Ukrainians [with an accent on the first a] were
called the people who lived …
Andrei
Vandenko: Ukrainians [with an accent on the first i].
Vladimir Putin: Ukrainians [with an accent on the first a] were
the people who lived on the frontiers of the Russian
state. There were Ukrainians in Pskov; Ukrainians were the people who
defended the southern frontiers from attacks by the Crimean
khan. Ukrainians were in the Urals. Ukrainians were everywhere. We
had no language differences.
Moreover,
around the same time, before the 14th and 15th centuries,
even those people, the east Slavs, who lived in the territory
of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – both in Muscovy
and in Poland – were called Russians. The first language
differences appeared much later…
Andrei
Vandenko: History is history, but now we are talking about the present
day.
Vladimir Putin:To talk about today or tomorrow we need to know
history, need to know who we are, where do we come from, what unites us.
What
unites us is…
Andrei
Vandenko: Now many things divide us.
Vladimir Putin:Many things divide us. But we should not forget about things that
unite us. And should not destroy what we have. For example,
the Church. Why did one need to destroy the unity
of the Russian Orthodox Church?
You
know that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow
Patriarchate is in fact fully autonomous; it has been fully autonomous
before, including in terms of the election of hierarchs
of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow
Patriarchate. The Moscow Patriarchate has never had any influence
on the election of hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In fact,
it has always been independent, completely. There has been only spiritual unity
and mentioning. The Patriarch of Moscow has been mentioned,
recalled all the time in churches. That's it! It has been
the only thing uniting the Russian Orthodox Church
and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow
Patriarchate. But they needed to cut the cords that bind. Why?
You
say people do not understand. They simply do not know it. If they know, they
will understand better. They should be told that. Why should one be
embarrassed? Is it insulting for people?
Some
time passed. As a result of people sharing the border with
the Catholic world, with Europe, a community of people feeling
to some extent independent from the Russian State began
to emerge. How should we feel about that? I have already said: we
should respect that. But we should not forget about our shared community.
Moreover,
in the modern world our joint efforts give us huge competitive
advantages. And, vice versa, division
makes us weaker.
The Ukrainian
factor was specifically played out on the eve of World War
I by the Austrian special service. Why? It is well-known –
to divide and rule. Absolutely clear.
Nevertheless,
if it happened this way, and a big part of the Ukrainian population
got a sense of their own national identity and so on, we should
respect that. We should proceed from the reality but not forget who we are
and where we come from.
By the way,
the fathers of the Ukrainian nationalism, they never spoke about
the urgent need to break up with Russia. Strange as it may seem,
but their major works of the 19th century say that
Ukraine is: a) multinational and should be a federal state,
and b) should build good relations with Russia.
Today’s
nationalists seem to have forgotten that. I will tell you why they
have forgotten that. You know why? Because the interests
of the Ukrainian people are not the main issue on their
agenda.
How
can it be the interest of the Ukrainian people if
the break-up with Russia has led to loss of space engineering,
shipbuilding, aircraft engineering and engine manufacturing; it is
virtually the deindustrialization of the country that is
happening. How can it be among interests?
The World
Bank demands to stop cross-subsidizing. What's good in it? Or, they
make them export round wood from the Carpathians. Soon
the Carpathians will turn bald.
Why
do this if, by joining efforts, we increase our competitive advantages
manifold? Why lose it? Why throw everything away, what for?
Because
the Ukrainian leaders or those who got power pursued their
self-interests. And what were they? It was not even to earn more
by robbing the Ukrainian people but to retain what has been
plundered before. This was the main objective.
So,
where is the ‘dough’? Pardon my French. Where is the money?
In foreign banks. What do they need to do for this? Show that
they serve those who have this money.
Hence,
the only thing they sell is Russophobia. Because some like dividing
Ukraine and Russia, they believe it's a very important mission.
Because any integration of Russia and Ukraine, along with their
capacities and competitive advantages, would lead
to the emergence of a rival, a global rival
for Europe and the world. No one wants it. That's why they'll do
anything to pull us apart.
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