Vladimir Putin made a statement
for the press and answered questions from Russian media
following a two-day BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
July
27, 2018
15:40
News conference following BRICS
summit.
President of Russia Vladimir
Putin: Good afternoon.
I would like to brief you
on what we did during these two days and on the results
of our work. First of all, I would like to remind you
that BRICS developed in a natural way, which we
pointed out today.
The first meeting of our
group, which was smaller at the time, was held in St Petersburg
in 2005, if memory serves me correctly, and brought together
the leaders of China, Russia and India. The group was
called RIC then, which stood for Russia, India and China. Brazil
and subsequently South Africa joined our group later, which is why it is
called BRICS.
Initially, our goals and tasks
were very modest. We wanted to join forces, primarily
in the economy, and discussed the coordination of our
efforts towards attaining more ambitious goals in this vital area
of activity.
As more members joined
the group, it developed into a full-scale organisation with new
spheres of activity and broader common interests.
One of our priorities,
as we said at our previous meetings as well as at this
meeting, is to fight terrorism and coordinate our activities
in politics, trade and the economy in the broadest
possible meaning of this word.
I would like just briefly
to go through what we did this time. To begin with, this is our 10th
summit meeting. The main subjects we discussed included resistance
to unilateral approaches in global affairs, the protection
of multilateralism, and the use of the advantages
of the fourth digital industrial revolution.
We endorsed the Johannesburg
Declaration that is aimed against economic sanctions and the use
of force in violation of the UN Charter. It is also
designed to prevent an arms race in outer space, support the Astana
process on a settlement in Syria and preserve
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The declaration includes
the Russian initiatives on drafting an agreement on IT
and communication technology, forming a platform for energy
research and establishing a women’s business alliance.
This new Russian initiative came
about spontaneously, to be honest, but was enthusiastically backed
by the participants. It deals with BRICS cooperation in culture,
sport and cinematography. The participants even endorsed a sketch
of the prize to be awarded at the BRICS film festival
that we planned to organise and hold in the future.
The summit sent a powerful
signal in favour of preserving the WTO, against protectionism
and changing the rules of world trade. Inter-governmental
memorandums were signed on cooperation in regional aviation
and environmental protection, and an agreement
on establishing a new Development Bank office in Sao Paulo,
Brazil.
The united session
of the outreach BRICS Plus has just ended or is about
to end. The themes are also known – consolidation of BRICS
standing in the world and development of cooperation
in Africa. BRICS has been supported by multilateral international
associations.
As you may know, the summit
coincided with Nelson Mandela’s centenary. He defended the principles
of equality, dignity and justice. These are the principles that
underlie BRICS activities.
I also had bilateral
meetings with the presidents of South Africa, Argentina, Angola,
Turkey, Zambia, the People’s Republic of China,
and the Prime Minister of India, and also contacts with
the leaders of Zimbabwe, Togo and other participants
in the recent BRICS outreach meeting. This is a very general
outline of the results and subjects that were discussed. If you
have any questions, I will try to answer them.
Go ahead, please.
Question: Mr President, you mentioned
that the BRICS format was initially conceived primarily
as an economic cooperation platform, and has expanded
to include other areas over time. What do you think the future
of this format is? What other areas of cooperation might it come
to include?
You also said that initially it was
called BRIC, and South Africa joined later. We know that the possible
expansion of BRICS was discussed today. Although there was no decision
on this matter, what is your opinion about the possibility
of opening BRICS to other countries, and what other countries
could be included?
If you allow me, just one more
question. According to earlier reports, you planned to discuss
the Syrian settlement at the BRICS Summit, in particular
the delivery of humanitarian aid, with your BRICS colleagues,
and to propose that BRICS step up their role on this front. What
was the response to this proposal?
Vladimir Putin: You know,
the advantage of BRICS as a format is that it is free
of all the red tape you find in many other associations like
this. As President of Brazil, Michel Temer said today, BRICS is an organic association
of countries that have many things in common: they have many shared
interests and common approaches to addressing challenges that are
relevant to all of humanity, including Russia.
In fact, there is no formal
leader within BRICS. All decisions are taken by consensus with full
respect for the interests of all the participants
in this organisation. This is one of its key advantages. Today, we
also mentioned the fact that many countries are showing an interest
in what BRICS is doing.
BRICS Plus and an outreach
format have already been created to this effect. For now, we agreed
to rely on these formats for expanding our reach
and drawing into our orbit countries that share the underlying
principles and values of BRICS.
So far, we have no plans
to expand BRICS membership, since the existing formats have proven
effective. As for our discussions and the issues we intend
to address, these are issues relevant for a vast majority
of countries and economies around the world. The sky is
the limit for us. The same applies to politics
and security.
These are the subjects we
discussed and on which we have adopted decisions or coordinated
positions. You may see, regarding the non-deployment of weapons
in space, it boils down to security and the arms race,
or rather the prevention of an arms race in this
particular case.
We also talked about fighting
terrorism, but is this not a vital task facing many countries?
In this context, we spoke about Syria, of course,
and my colleagues welcomed our idea of encouraging a more
active contribution to humanitarian aid to the Syrian people,
which is an absolutely natural desire.
The fourth issue we discussed
concerned the industrial revolution. This is happening in Russia
and the other leading and emerging economies. Why did our
colleagues support our proposal on strengthening our cooperation
in the humanitarian area, as well as in culture,
cinema and sport? Because this is what brings us closer together
and creates a natural basis for interaction between people.
The Prime Minister of India
said it was a very good idea because we can organise sporting events like
a mini-Olympics for the BRICS countries, a sports
mini-festival that could include national sports, which are not generally known
in other countries but could be interesting for our countries.
This is a natural way
to bring millions of people, or even hundreds of millions
or billions of people closer together, considering that
the BRICS countries account for nearly half of the world’s
population.
As for the second
question, about Syria, I have answered this.
Next, please.
Question: You have said many
times that Russia must reduce its dependence on the US dollar. Russia
has recently been selling US treasury bonds, bringing the share
in the reserves down to nearly zero. Is this all you plan
to do?
Is this a new state policy,
or just protection against the potential extension
of the sanctions? If Russia abandons the dollar, what
alternative currency would you use? Could it be a BRICS country currency,
for example the yuan? We know that the Bank of Russia is increasing its share of yuan denominated
assets.
If I may, there is one more
question I simply have to ask.
Vladimir Putin: Let me answer
this question first, and then you can ask your second question.
Russia is not giving up
on the dollar, which is a universal reserve currency.
The Euro can also claim this status more or less, but not fully.
Therefore, we are well aware of what the dollar represents today.
As for reserve currencies
as such, regional ones are already appearing. To a certain
extent, the Russian ruble plays this role in the CIS or EAEU countries. In general,
the strength and value of any national currency depends
on the strength and value of the economy standing
behind it. We must proceed from these fundamental assumptions.
A few words about
the dollar again. We must minimise the risks. We are seeing what is
happening with the sanctions that are essentially illegal restrictions. We
are aware of the risks and are trying to minimise them.
As for the dollar
as a reserve currency, we are not alone in talking about this
problem, and it is becoming a problem. You are wrong if you think
that this is Russia’s initiative. A great number of countries are
talking about exactly this – the need to expand
the capabilities of global finance and the global economy,
and create new reserve currencies. This will make the global economy
and global finance more stable. This is abundantly clear.
As for our American
partners and the restrictions that they are introducing, including
in those dollar settlements, I believe this is a big strategic
mistake on their behalf because they are thus undermining confidence
in the dollar as a reserve currency. This is the bottom
line.
Quite recently, just several years
ago, it did not occur to anyone that such instruments might be used
in political struggle, in political competition. Everyone proceeded
from the premise that politics is politics or as we joke here:
“War is war but lunch is still on schedule.” The same should be true
here: disputes are disputes, but when it comes to economics, some things
are absolutely stable and immutable.
It turned out this was not
the case: payment systems are being used as a political argument
in political disputes and in settling differences; currency is
being used, too. I believe it is absolutely clear that this is damaging
the dollar as the world reserve currency and undermining
trust in it – this is what it is all about. If this were not
the case, there would not be a desire on the part
of not one but dozens of countries to consider other options.
It is hard to say now what these
options are, but the yuan is certainly acquiring such qualities.
I believe that if it becomes freely convertible from an economic
standpoint, this process will accelerate. But it has already been added
to the IMF basket, so this is nothing special, a natural
process. Let me repeat that the importance of a national
currency depends on the significance of the economy behind
it.
Again, we are not going to make
any abrupt movements. We are not going to give up on the dollar
in any way. We will use it to the extent to which
the US financial authorities will not prevent the use of the dollar
in settlements.
Question: The second part
of the question is also related to the US.
After your Helsinki visit,
the US invited you to attend the next summit, suggesting that
you meet Donald Trump in Washington later this year. As far
as I understand, the US has opted to roll back this meeting
until next year. My question is, when do you expect this meeting
to take place, and will you accept the invitation? Generally
speaking, do you believe that Trump can deliver on his promise
to improve Russian-American relations considering that there are so many
moves in opposite directions?
Vladimir Putin: The fact that
President Trump always seeks to deliver on his promises, primarily
those he gives to his voters, the American people, is one of his
greater assets. By the way, I believe this to be
a positive trait of the current president, since more often than
not leaders are quick to forget what they promised when heading into
the election. This is not the case with Trump. He can be criticised
for what he does, as so many do, but it is also clear that he tries
to deliver on his campaign promises.
As for our meetings,
I find them useful. Let me reiterate what I have said
on a number of occasions: in Helsinki, we discussed matters
of vital concern for our countries. For example, the New
START Treaty expires in 2021. So will we renew it or not?
Containing the arms race is
something both the United States and Russia are interested in,
and the same applies to the rest of the world.
In 2021, the New START Treaty will cease to exist unless we
initiate negotiations, since we have been unable to resolve some issues
that have arisen in the course of the treaty application
and implementation.
There are other problems related,
for example, to conflict settlement, including Syria. Yes, we do have
working contacts, but this is never enough, since top-level political contact
is also essential. We need to accommodate the interests of all
states within the region, including Syria, as well as Iran,
Israel and Turkey, and many other countries in the region
like Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, etc.
But will we discuss all this
at the top political level or not? Or is this
a secondary issue for us? I think that this is not
the case. No, this is not a secondary issue, and the same
applies to the JCPOA (the Iranian nuclear programme). Is this
a matter of concern for Iran only, or only
for the United States?
No, it is relevant
for a great number of countries and Europe
as a whole, and many others. What I mean is that I believe
the JCPOA is an effective tool for containing the arms race
and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This
can be a matter of controversy or a subject of talks,
but how can this be carried out when there are no meetings? You cannot settle
everything over the phone.
As for further meetings,
I understand what President Trump said. He wants to hold further
meetings, and I am ready for this too, but we have to have
the right conditions, including in our two countries.
We are interested in such
meetings. We are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow.
Incidentally, he has an invitation; I told him about it. I am
also ready to visit Washington, D.C. But again, the right conditions
must be in place.
We will generally remain
in contact in the near term, including at the venues
of various international events, for example, the G20. There are
also plans for possible meetings at other international forums. So,
despite the difficulties, in this case the domestic political
situation in the US, life goes on and our contacts
continue.
Question: Another question
on the US: as far as we know, at the meeting with
Mr Trump, you brought up the idea of a referendum
on the territory of the Donbass republics. I am wondering
how he reacted to this proposal. We already know that Kiev did not like
it. Do you think it possible to hold this referendum under
the auspices of Russia and some other countries?
Vladimir Putin: I will
abstain from commenting on this for now. It is a very delicate,
sensitive subject that requires additional analysis.
Question: Can you please clarify
the position of the BRICS leaders: have you decided
to postpone a BRICS expansion for now? I do not quite
understand, is this the decision of the leaders or have
the candidate countries that have been talking about joining
for several years decided to slow down a little and take
a step back? Who suggested postponing expansion?
Vladimir Putin: No candidates
took a step back. On the contrary, they expressed readiness
and willingness to be part of the BRICS framework
as full members. But at today’s narrow attendance meeting
my colleagues approached this issue cautiously. They are willing
to cooperate with other countries and do not rule out BRICS expansion
in the future but they believe that it requires additional analysis.
This does not mean that
the organization is closed, that its doors are closed. No, it is just that
this issue should be properly analysed. Otherwise, the organization is
open to anyone.
That is all. Thank
you very much.
