“The Crimea is not a disputed territory. Unlike the case of Georgia and South Ossetia, there has been no ethnic conflict there.” Has BeensCasesConflictSouthTerritoryGeorgiaEthnic ConflictCrimea Author:Vladimir Putin
“Russia has long recognized the borders of today's Ukraine. By and large, we have completed our talks on the border. Now we have to deal with the demarcation, but this is a technical issue.” LongTodayDealsIssuesRussiaBordersUkraine Author:Vladimir Putin
“There are complicated processes going on in society in the Crimea. There are problems of the Crimean Tatars, the Ukrainian population, the Russian population, the Slavic population in general, but this is Ukraine's domestic political problem.” ProblemPoliticalProcessPopulationComplicatedUkraineUkrainianCrimea Author:Vladimir Putin
“Whoever is the first to cry "Stop the thief" is the one who is guilty.” FirstsCryGuiltyThieves Author:Vladimir Putin
“Speaking seriously, Russia does not want to aggravate relations with anyone. We don't want any tensions. We want a good, friendly partnership with everyone.” WantDoeRelationRussiaTensionFriendlyPartnershipGood Friend Author:Vladimir Putin
“There used to be the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. There used to be Soviet troops in the GDR. And we must honestly admit that they were occupation troops, which remained in Germany after WWII under the guise of allied troops. Now these occupation troops are gone, the Soviet Union has collapsed, and the Warsaw Pact is no more. There is no Soviet threat, but NATO and U.S. troops are still in Europe. What for?” StillsUsedGoneEuropeUnionsThreatHonestlyUsed To BeGermanyOccupationSovietTroopsSoviet UnionWwiiNatoGuisePactWarsawWarsaw Pact Author:Vladimir Putin
“A foreign threat is useful to put things in order in one's own camp, to make one's allies follow the bloc discipline. Iran does not fit this role too well, and it is very tempting to revive Russia's image of the enemy. But nobody in Europe is afraid anymore.” WellsDoeOrderEnemyRolesDisciplineFitEuropeThreatRussiaIranAlliesCampsTemptingRevive Author:Vladimir Putin
“How was Kosovo recognized? They forgot about the territorial integrity of a state, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which they had themselves adopted and supported. Why could it have been done there, but not in Abkhazia and South Ossetia? Why not?” WellsHas BeensStatesDoneSecurityIntegritySouthResolutionWhy NotAdoptedCouncilTerritorialSecurity CouncilKosovo Author:Vladimir Putin
“Equipping one side of an ethnic conflict and then prodding it to resolve its ethnic problems by force of arms is a very bad policy.” ProblemForceSidesPolicyArmsConflictResolveEthnic Conflict Author:Vladimir Putin
“Russia is a very reliable and big market. I don't remember the figure but, for example, the German machine-building industry has been increasing its supplies to Russia every year. These supplies are huge. Does someone want to discontinue these supplies? We'll buy from somebody else.” WantYearsDoeHas BeensBigsRememberFiguresExampleBuildingHugeIndustryMachinesRussiaSupplies Author:Vladimir Putin
“From the beginning, we failed to overcome Europe's division. The Berlin Wall fell, but invisible walls were moved to the East of Europe. This has led to mutual misunderstandings and assignments of guilt. They are the cause of all crises ever since.” CausesWallEuropeOvercomingCrisisMovedGuiltEastInvisibleMutualDivisionMisunderstandingBerlinAssignmentsBerlin Wall Author:Vladimir Putin
“Back in 2007, many people criticized me for my talk at the Munich Security Conference. But what did I say there? I merely pointed out that the former NATO Secretary General Manfred Wörner had guaranteed that NATO would not expand eastwards after the fall of the Wall.” PeopleFallSecurityWallFormerSecretaryConferencesNatoMunich Author:Vladimir Putin
“Over the course of the year 1990, the then Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher had many conversations with President [Mikhail] Gorbachev and other Soviet officials.” YearsCoursesPresidentConversationMinistersOfficialsSovietGorbachev Author:Vladimir Putin
“This, for instance, is what Egon Bahr said on June 26, 1990: "If we do not now undertake clear steps to prevent a division of Europe, this will lead to Russia's isolation."Bahr, a wise man, had a very concrete suggestion as to how this danger could be averted.” IfsMenSaidStepsClearWiseDangerEuropeRussiaInstanceIsolationDivisionConcreteSuggestionsJune Author:Vladimir Putin
“[Egon] Bahr even said: If Russia agreed to the NATO expansion, he would never come to Moscow again.” IfsSaidRussiaExpansionNatoMoscow Author:Vladimir Putin
“I have heard this a thousand times. Of course every state has the right to organize its security the way it deems appropriate. But the states that were already in NATO, the member states, could also have followed their own interests - and abstained from an expansion to the east.” WayStatesCoursesInterestHeardSecurityThousandMembersEastAppropriateOrganizeExpansionNato Author:Vladimir Putin
“Nowhere is it written that NATO had to accept certain countries. All that would have been required to refrain from doing so was the political will. But people didn't want to.” PeopleWantHas BeensCountryPoliticalCertainAcceptingWrittenRefrainNatoPolitical Will Author:Vladimir Putin
“NATO and the USA wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union. They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone.” WantedVictoryEuropeUnionsUsaSovietThronesSoviet UnionNato Author:Vladimir Putin
“Now they [NATO and the USA ] are sitting there, and we are talking about all these crises we would otherwise not have. You can also see this striving for an absolute triumph in the American missile defense plans.” TalkingPlansSittingAbsolutesCrisisStriveDefenseTriumphUsaMissilesNatoMissile Defense Author:Vladimir Putin
“In 2009, US President [Barack] Obama said that the missile defense only serves as protection from Iranian nuclear missiles. But now there is an international treaty with Iran that bans Tehran from developing a potential military nuclear project.” SaidPresidentMilitaryProjectsInternationalProtectionDefenseNuclearBarackDevelopingIranMissilesBansTreatiesIranianPresident Barack ObamaUs PresidentTehranNuclear MissilesMissile Defense Author:Vladimir Putin
“The International Atomic Energy Agency is controlling this, the sanctions against Iran are lifted - but still the US are working on their missile defense system. What is the point of this?” StillsEnergyInternationalDefenseAgencyIranSanctionsMissilesAtomic EnergyMissile Defense Author:Vladimir Putin
“We have made mistakes! We were too late. If we had presented our national interests more clearly from the beginning, the world would still be in balance today.” IfsWorldMadeStillsTodayInterestMistakeBalanceLateToo LateMade A MistakeNational Interests Author:Vladimir Putin
“After the demise of the Soviet Union, we had many problems of our own for which no one was responsible but ourselves: the economic downfall, the collapse of the welfare system, the separatism, and of course the terror attacks that shook our country. In this respect, we do not have to look for guilty parties abroad.” LooksCountryProblemCoursesPartyEconomicResponsibleUnionsTerrorGuiltyOur CountryWelfareSovietCollapseSoviet UnionDownfallDemiseTerror Attacks Author:Vladimir Putin
“The mutual sympathy of our peoples is and will remain the foundation of our relations [with Germany].” RelationFoundationGermanyMutual Author:Vladimir Putin
“Even with the help of anti-Russian propaganda in the mass media, Germany has not succeeded in damaging this sympathy.” HelpingMediaMassPropagandaGermanyMass Media Author:Vladimir Putin
“Of course Germany's media are heavily influenced by the country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.” CountryCoursesSidesMediaOceanGermanyAtlantic Ocean Author:Vladimir Putin
“We had a very good situation in 2005. The common budget had a volume of 80 billion dollars per year. Thousands of jobs were created in Germany by Russian investments. At the same time, a large number of German companies invested in Russia. There were countless cultural and social contacts.” YearsJobsSocialCommonNumbersCompanySituationDollarsInvestmentVery GoodBillionsRussiaContactBudgetsGermanyVolumeLarge Numbers Author:Vladimir Putin
“I have never changed. I feel as young as I always did and remain close friends with Gerhard Schröder.” FeelsYoungChangedNever ChangeClose Friends Author:Vladimir Putin
“Things are different in the international relations between states. In this respect, I am neither a friend, nor bride or groom [of the West].” DifferentStatesRelationWestInternationalBridesInternational Relations Author:Vladimir Putin
“I am the president of 146 million Russians. I have to represent their interests. We are willing to settle this without any conflicts and to search for compromises on the basis of international law.” LawPresidentInterestMillionsWillingConflictBasesInternationalCompromiseSettlingInternational Law Author:Vladimir Putin
“I'm still the same. Take the fight against terrorism: after the attacks of September 11, I was the first to side with US President [George W.] Bush. And now, after the attacks in Paris, I have done the same with the President of France,[Oliver] Hollande. Terrorism threatens us all.” FirstsStillsDoneFightingSidesPresidentTerrorismFranceParisSeptemberSeptember 11Us PresidentPresident George W Bush Author:Vladimir Putin
“We should cooperate much more closely in fighting terrorism, which is a great challenge.” ShouldFightingChallengesTerrorismFighting Terrorism Author:Vladimir Putin
“Even if we do not always agree on every aspect, nobody should take this as an excuse to declare us as enemies.” IfsShouldEnemyAspectAgreeExcuse Author:Vladimir Putin
“The nationalists' coup in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev in February 2014 has hugely scared 2.5 million Russian people living on Crimea. So what did we do? We have not gone to war, we have not fired, not a single person was killed. Our soldiers have merely prevented the Ukrainian troops on Crimea from impeding the freedom of expression of the people.” PeoplePersonsWarMillionsGoneExpressionSoldierScaredTroopsLiving OnFreedom Of ExpressionSingle PersonFebruaryUkrainianCoupsCrimeaKiev Author:Vladimir Putin
“In the referendum - which was still decided to take place by the Crimea's old parliament - the majority of citizens voted for belonging to Russia. This is democracy, the people's will.” PeopleStillsDemocracyCitizensDecidedMajorityRussiaBelongingParliamentReferendumsCrimea Author:Vladimir Putin
“For me, it [Crimea] is not borders and state territories that matter, but people's fortunes.” PeopleMatterStatesFortuneBordersTerritoryCrimea Author:Vladimir Putin
“Of course one always has to follow international law. This was also the case in Crimea. According to the Charter of the United Nations, every people has the right to self-determination.” PeopleSelfLawCoursesNationsUnitedCasesDeterminationInternationalSelf DeterminationUnited NationsCharterInternational LawCrimea Author:Vladimir Putin
“Just take Kosovo: back then, UN bodies decided that Kosovo should become independent of Serbia and that the interests of Serbia's central government had to be subordinated. You can read that in all the records, also in the German ones.” ShouldBodyGovernmentInterestRecordsDecidedIndependentSerbiaKosovoCentral Government Author:Vladimir Putin
“The fact is that there was a long war in which Serbia and its capital Belgrade were bombarded and attacked with missiles. It was a military intervention of the West and NATO against the then rump Yugoslavia.” LongWarFactsMilitaryWestInterventionMissilesNatoSerbiaYugoslaviaBombardedMilitary InterventionBelgrade Author:Vladimir Putin
“I'm asking : if the Kosovars have the right to self-determination, why should people on Crimea not have it? I would say: everyone should comply with uniform international rules and not want to change them any time one feels like it.” PeopleIfsWantFeelsShouldSelfDeterminationAskingInternationalSelf DeterminationUniformsCrimea Author:Vladimir Putin
“Napoleon once said that justice is the incarnation of God on Earth. I'm telling you: the reunification of Crimea and Russia is just.” SaidEarthJusticeRussiaIncarnationCrimeaReunification Author:Vladimir Putin
“The West's sanctions are not aimed at helping Ukraine, but at geo-politically pushing Russia back. They are foolish and are merely harming both sides.” HelpingSidesWestFoolishRussiaPushingBoth SidesUkraineSanctions Author:Vladimir Putin
“Concerning our possibilities on the international financial markets, the sanctions are severely harming Russia. But the biggest harm is currently caused by the decline of the prices for energy. We suffer dangerous revenue losses in our export of oil and gas, which we can partly compensate for elsewhere. But the whole thing also has a positive side: if you earn so many petrodollars - as we once did - that you can buy anything abroad, this slows down developments in your own country.” IfsCountryWholeSufferingEnergySidesLossDangerousPossibilityDevelopmentFinancialInternationalHarmOilRussiaGasElsewhereDeclineSlow DownRevenueSanctionsFinancial MarketsOil And Gas Author:Vladimir Putin
“We have a professional relationship [with Chancellor Angela Merkel].2016 is the year of the German-Russian youth exchange, so the relations are moving on.” YearsMovingYouthRelationAngelaProfessional Relationships Author:Vladimir Putin
“I trust Angela Merkel, she is a very open person. She is also subject to certain constraints and limitations. But she is honestly trying to settle the crisis, also in the south-east of Ukraine. However, what the European Union is doing with those sanctions is nothing but a theatre of the absurd.” TryingPersonsCertainSubjectsCrisisUnionsSouthEastTheatreHonestlyAbsurdLimitationSettlingConstraintsUkraineSanctionsEuropean UnionAngela Author:Vladimir Putin
“Anything that is missing in the implementation of the Minsk Agreement is - without any exception - up to the Kiev central government of Ukraine. You cannot demand something of Moscow that, in fact, the rulers in Kiev have to deliver. The most important aspect is the constitutional reform, Point 11 of the Minsk Agreement.” ImportantFactsGovernmentMissingDemandAspectReformExceptionAgreementRulersUkraineMoscowImplementationCentral GovernmentKiev Author:Vladimir Putin
“The constitutional reform is supposed to give autonomy to eastern Ukraine and to be adopted by the end of 2015. This has not happened, and the year is over. That's not Russia's fault.” GivingYearsEndsHappenedFaultsRussiaReformEasternAdoptedAutonomyUkraine Author:Vladimir Putin
