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Address to Russia citizens

 

Address to Russia citizens

Vladimir Putin addressed the citizens of Russia following the announcement of the presidential election official results by the Central Election Commission.

March 23, 2018

13:00

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, friends,

Today the Central Election Commission announced the final results of the Russian presidential election.

Over 67 percent of voters, which is over 73 million citizens, took part in the voting. Over 56 million of them, which is over 76 percent, voted for the current Head of State. It sets a record in the history of our country.

On March 18, right after the preliminary results were announced, I addressed a rally on Manezhnaya Square and spoke at my election campaign headquarters. I thanked my supporters, everyone who voted, it was both necessary and timely that night.

However, given the large-scale and unprecedented support you gave me, I believe that the words of gratitude I said in the centre of Moscow are not enough. I feel the need to address you directly, all those who supported me across Russia, all citizens of Russia.

I believe that such spectacular civic engagement and your commitment as well as consolidation are crucially important. Especially today, when we are facing complex domestic and foreign challenges.

I know only too well about your problems. You, Russian citizens, are right to speak about low incomes, faults with the healthcare system, housing, utilities and other things as well.

The trust you put in me signifies for me primarily your hope for a change for the better. I expect that your praise is related to the work that has been done and those positive results that we have achieved over the past years.

But it is not enough, of course. We need to make a real breakthrough. Your active participation in the election and your support show that we are ready to carry out such work, as well as to strive towards achieving such change.

I am well aware of my enormous responsibility before the citizens of Russia, before this entire country. Everything I spoke about in the course of the election campaign must be done.

Of course, I would like the matters that citizens raised to be addressed as soon as possible – we will strive to do this. But promising to solve all these things immediately, right away, to make the necessary changes simply overnight, would be an absolutely irresponsible thing to do.

Vladimir Putin addressed the citizens of Russia following the announcement of the presidential election official results by the Central Election Commission.

This would be nothing but a grand gesture, like showing off something designed only to have an immediate, short-term effect. What we really need is consistent, profound change, planned steps that will result in a stable positive outcome not only today but in the future as well.

We will be creating new jobs and increasing the effectiveness of our economy, increasing the real income of our citizens, reducing poverty, developing infrastructure and the social sphere – education and healthcare, addressing environmental and housing problems, and we will continue to renovate and revamp small cities and villages. All of this should be based on a powerful technological breakthrough, which is yet to be made.

I spoke about all these matters in the Address to the Federal Assembly. It is, essentially, a clear, concrete, detailed plan of our common action. I am sure that it is realistic, right and valid.

At the same time, I would like to emphasise that all the forthcoming decisions, even the most difficult ones, will be motivated by one thing only, the need to eliminate the backlogs that still exist in various spheres, to ensure the country’s dynamic development and a brand new quality of life for the people, as well as to address the historical challenges that we face today.

And the most important thing – in the end, all these decisions will be taken exclusively for the benefit of our country, our citizens, our children and future generations.

We will act openly and discuss all our major decisions with the public, we will also explain why we are acting in this or that way and we will explain which goals we want to achieve. Let me stress that our development agenda is meant to be consolidating and to unite the entire nation.

I would like to address all public and political forces in the country. I understand that the logic of political competition is in criticising those in power, from the left, from the right, always.

Yes, criticism, debates and discussions are necessary and important but they must be free from irresponsible populism. The national interests and the wellbeing of the people must be the main guideline for everybody, especially today. It is the ground for our consolidation and collaborative work.

I want to address those citizens who voted for other candidates. I respect your choice and opinion. Political preferences must not divide us. We are all patriots of our country and we have one common concern, that of Russia’s future and prosperity.

Our unity, responsibility, common understanding of goals and aspirations of millions of people must be turned into Russia’s development and powerful progress.

Thank you all once again for your support and trust. I am certain that together we will succeed.

Telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump

 

Telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the United States Donald Trump at the latter’s initiative.

March 20, 2018

18:25

Donald Trump congratulated Vladimir Putin on his victory in the presidential election. The leaders spoke in favour of developing practical cooperation in various areas, including efforts to ensure strategic stability and combat international terrorism, with particular emphasis on the importance of coordinated efforts to curb an arms race.

The exchange on economic cooperation revealed an interest in bolstering it. Energy was discussed separately.

The problem of Syria was discussed, as was the internal crisis in Ukraine. There was recognition on both sides of the need to make rapid strides toward achieving settlements.

Satisfaction was expressed with the limited reduction of tensions around the Korean Peninsula. The expediency of continuing consistent efforts to resolve the situation by peaceful, diplomatic means was underscored.

It was agreed to develop further bilateral contacts in light of the changes in leadership at the US Department of State. The possibility of organizing a top-level meeting received special attention.

On the whole, the conversation was constructive and businesslike, with a focus on overcoming the accumulated problems in Russian-American relations.

Meeting with candidates for post of Russian Federation President

 

Meeting with candidatesfor post of Russian Federation President

Vladimir Putin met with candidates who ran in the presidential election.

March 19, 2018

16:20

The Kremlin, Moscow

8 of 11

Meeting with candidates for post of Russian Federation President.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues.

The election campaign is over, and I wanted to meet with you. I hope that today we will talk, first of all, about the campaign, and most importantly, about what needs to be done to ensure that all the positive elements (and there were a lot of them during the election campaign) are taken into account in the future practical work of the executive and legislative branches of government.

Of course, an election campaign is always a special period, it is associated with special emotions, and often they are quite overwhelming. It happens almost everywhere, and we are no exception here. The main thing is that we have the opportunity to join efforts in the future for constructive work for the benefit of the country.

I met today with the heads of the central headquarters, the co-chairs of my campaign, and I want to repeat once again, the main emphasis in the future work of the executive branch will be on solving the country’s domestic problems. First of all, this means ensuring economic growth rates, making innovation part of the character of our economy, resolving specific issues in healthcare, education and science as well as ensuring the prosperity of our people on the basis of these elements.

This is the final goal of any government in Russia; it is nothing original, and, moreover – by the way, almost all of you noted this in your campaigns – we have the problem of a gap between those who earn a lot, have large incomes and those who live humbly, to put it mildly. The state must close this gap and, as I have said many times, reduce the number of people living below the poverty line, especially those with jobs. The kind of situation where someone works but receives contemptible pay should not be allowed in Russia.

At a meeting with candidates for post of Russian Federation President.

Of course, we must and will pay the necessary attention to further bolstering the country’s defence capability. But let me tell you outright that no one is going to start some arms race. On the contrary, we are going to pursue constructive relations with all countries of the world. We will aim for constructive dialogue, without question, and encourage this among our partners.

But, of course, not everything depends on us. There must be interest on both sides, like in love, or there will be no love. However, we, on our side, will do everything possible to resolve all disputes with our partners through political and diplomatic means. In addition to this, of course, our position has always been and will always be that we will fight to uphold our national interests. Our operating assumption is that we will do all this work with our partners on a mutually acceptable basis, showing respect for each other and for our national interests.

Regarding military expenditures. There are planned reductions in defence spending both this year and next year. This will not bring about any problems in our defence capability because the major expenditures on creating cutting-edge weapon systems were made in previous years. We have to bring some matters to their logical conclusion, and continue with current designs, which I have not yet spoken about. We have run all the calculations. The money we are going to put to these ends will suffice, there will be no increases, and we will not allow a new arms race. We have everything, in this sense we are securely provided for. Yet we will pursue our aims steadily and according to plan.

At a meeting with candidates for post of Russian Federation President.

This is what I would like to focus on at the end of my monologue. I spoke about it at the rally yesterday, if you had time to watch and if you took notice. I think it is crucial for us to unite the efforts of all political parties, civic organisations, the public in the broadest sense of the word, to unite our efforts around a positive agenda, to solve the tasks the country is facing, and to overcome the challenges Russia is up against. There may be no simple solutions; they may require additional explanation.

I strongly hope that we will always be guided by the long-term interests of Russia and the Russian people, with group or party preferences coming second.

I understand that this is not easy, there is always a temptation to exploit certain decisions made by the government that require additional public explanation. But I urge you to engage in an open and honest dialogue that advances long-term national interests.

This is what I wanted to begin with. Let us discuss our ideas about what we need to do together to solve the problems facing the country.

<…>

Answers to media questions

 

Answers to media questions

Vladimir Putin answered questions from Russian and foreign journalists following the completion of the presidential election.

March 18, 2018

23:40

Moscow

Vladimir Putin answered questions from Russian and foreign journalists following the completion of the presidential election.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good evening.

Question: Good evening. What is your predominant emotion today? How do you feel, and what plans do you have for tomorrow?

Vladimir Putin: The predominant emotion is gratitude to the voters for their choice, for the trust they have placed in me. Gratitude for their assessment of our work in these past years and for the hope they have so clearly demonstrated that we will continue working, that our expanded team and I, their humble servant, will continue working as hard as before and that we will achieve even better results. We have every chance to achieve great practical results.

Question: We were closely monitoring the election campaign in Russia. The tragedy with Skripal happened at the height of the election race. How do you see Russia’s future relations with Europe? Is Europe a partner or maybe the main opponent?

Vladimir Putin:  Regarding the tragedy you have mentioned, I learned about it from the media. The first thing that comes to mind is that, had it been a warfare agent, the victims would have died immediately. It is an obvious fact, which must be taken into account. This is first.

The second is that Russia does not have such chemical agents. We destroyed all our chemical weapons, and international observers monitored the destruction process. Moreover, we were the first to do this, unlike some of our partners who promised to destroy their chemical weapons but have not done so to this day, regrettably.

Therefore, we are ready for cooperation, as we said immediately. We are ready to take part in any investigations necessary, provided the other side wants this too. We do not see their interest so far, but we have not removed the possibility of cooperation on this matter from the agenda.

As for the overall situation, I believe that any reasonable person can see that this is total nonsense. It is unthinkable that anyone on Russia would do such a thing ahead of the presidential election and the FIFA World Cup. Absolutely unthinkable.

However, we are ready for cooperation despite the above things. We are ready to discuss any issues and to deal with any problems.

Question: The voter turnout across the country was high but, unfortunately, Ukraine restricted Russian nationals’ right to vote. What is your opinion? And how can Russia retaliate?

Vladimir Putin: It is a disgrace. It is a violation of all generally recognised international norms. But Russia will not retaliate. For us Ukraine and Ukrainians are a brotherly people. I have always said that. We will not respond with any restrictions; on the contrary, we will do everything for Ukrainians to feel at home in Russia.

Question: Mr President, yesterday you congratulated President Xi Jinping. You expressed confidence that bilateral relations will be filled with new content. What kind of new content?

Vladimir Putin:  President Xi Jinping has set very ambitious goals for China’s development for himself and the country. We wish success to the Chinese leadership and the Chinese people in tackling these tasks. These ambitious projects include President Xi Jinping’s concept of the Silk Road and the economic component of the Silk Road.

I will not go into the details of our cooperation but we believe it is perfectly in line with our projects to build the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian partnership in a broader sense.

Our interests here are the same. There are plenty of very practical joint efforts in this area. And we will continue this work.

China is our strategic partner. Russia and China enjoy an unprecedented level of relations. We value them greatly. We congratulate Xi Jinping on his re-election as President of China for another term and express confidence that China under his leadership and, on our part, Russia will by all means do everything to expand the Russia-China cooperation.

Question: When should we expect changes in the Government? Before or after the inauguration?

Vladimir Putin:  Any changes in the Government should be made by the President who has assumed office for the next term. So, for now, I will be thinking what to do and how. I think the main changes will happen after the inauguration.

Question: A clarification follow-up to my colleague’s question: have you decided on a new Prime Minister? Could it be Dmitry Medvedev again?

And my second question is, do you have plans to carry out a constitutional reform during the new presidential term that could be related to a re-distribution of authority between the branches of power?

Vladimir Putin: I do not plan any constitutional reforms yet.

As concerns the Prime Minister and the Government overall, I have already said that I am thinking about it, of course, and I will think more specifically starting today because I needed to wait until the election results. But all the changes will be announced after the inauguration.

Question: What do you think about the return of the United States’ Monroe Doctrine to Latin America?

Vladimir Putin:  We know the whole history of relations between the United States and Latin America. Those are complicated relations essentially forged by gunboats and certain political and economic pressure.

But I really hope that today’s Administration has the opportunity, and it will indeed take the opportunity to build relations in the 21^st century based on equality and respect for each other’s interests.

We are interested in a positive development of relations in the world between states on all continents and the international agenda proceeding from this premise.

Question: I still would like to clarify. Do you allow the possibility of becoming President again in 2030 if you do not change the Constitution?

Vladimir Putin:  Listen to me. I think what you are saying is somewhat ridiculous. Let us count. Am I supposed to be President until I am 100 years old? No.

Question: Do you plan to meet with other presidential candidates?

Vladimir Putin:  Yes, I do.

Remark: When?

Vladimir Putin:  I plan to meet with them. I do not know when yet, we will see. The Executive Office will contact them, we will agree and I will invite them to a meeting.

Remark: All of them?

Vladimir Putin:  All of them.

Question: Mr President, in the next six years, will we see a new Vladimir Putin or the same one?

Vladimir Putin:  Everything changes. Thank you very much.

Remark: Including you?

Vladimir Putin:  We all change.

Vladimir Putin addressed rally on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow

 

Vladimir Putin addressed rally on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow

Speaking at a Russia. Sevastopol. Crimea concert rally on Moscow’s Manezhnaya Square, the President thanked his supporters.

March 18, 2018

23:00

Moscow

Vladimir Putin addressed rally on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow.

Vladimir Putin: Friends,

Thank you for coming here, to the heart of our nation’s capital, on this cold Moscow evening. Thank you very much for your support.

I would like to address those who are here in Moscow tonight, as well as supporters across our vast country. Thank you very much for this result.

Remark: We are your team!

Vladimir Putin: Exactly! We are a single team, I am a member of this team, and all those who cast their ballots today are members of our large national team. For me, this is an acknowledgement, to say the least, of what we have achieved in recent years despite the challenging conditions.

I see this as a sign of trust and hope, the hope of our people that we will work as hard, with the same responsibility and effectiveness as before. Thank you for being such a powerful, millions-strong team. We will definitely succeed.

My dear friends, it is critical that we preserve this sense of unity. It is essential that we reach out to those who voted for other candidates. We need this unity in order to move ahead. And in order to do so, we need to feel the support of every single member of our national community.

In our work, we will not be guided by any momentary considerations or vested interests. We will focus on the future of our great Motherland, and the future of our children. That way, we are poised for success. Thank you very much. Let us undertake a major, large-scale effort together in the name of Russia.

Vladimir Putin has cast his vote in the Russian presidential elections

 

Vladimir Putin has cast his vote in the Russian presidential elections

The President of the Russian Federation voted at polling station No 2151, which is located at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Gagarinsky District, Moscow.

March 18, 2018

10:00

Moscow

At polling station No. 2151 during Russian presidential elections. Photo: RIA Novosti

* * *

Question: Mr President, what are your plans for the day?

Vladimir Putin: Work: I have a couple of work meetings scheduled.

Question: Which percentage of votes will you consider a success for you?

Vladimir Putin: Any number that will give me the right to perform the duties of the President of the Russian Federation.

Question: Mr President, it must be difficult for you to make a choice: voting for yourself is awkward. Or are you able to overcome this awkwardness?

Vladimir Putin:  Why? There is no need for me to overcome anything. I am confident in the correctness of the programme that I offer for the country’s development.