Official website of the President of Russia

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Vice Chairperson of India Today Group Kalli Purie: We’re for the first time in Russia – at least I am. The city is just breathtaking. I've been all over the world, but nothing like this has ever caught my eye before. It feels like I'm in a fairy tale.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: You should stay here for two weeks, then you'll truly feel that you're in a fairy tale. Then, really, the city will be fully decorated for Christmas and the New Year. We're only getting started now.

Kalli Purie: Like a Fabergé egg – you open one up and there's a surprise inside.

Vladimir Putin: Moscow looks beautiful, and it's one of the best megacities in the world now. And definitely, you must visit other major Russian cities too. I recommend St Petersburg because that's where I grew up. It's also a unique place.

Kalli Purie: I am surprised, I admit, and feel slightly guilty. In some ways we were exposed to Western propaganda, and I did not expect what I saw in Russia and especially in Moscow… We expected sanctions; we expected people wouldn't be so friendly nor speak English. But everything turned out completely different from how I imagined.

Vladimir Putin: Your ladies constantly pushed me towards expressing anti-Western sentiments, but I tried to keep things balanced.

Anjana Om Kashyap: When you began speaking about not giving characteristics to your colleagues…

Vladimir Putin: I believe the Western community can only be pitied these days. Honestly. They've cornered themselves into numerous dead ends in many areas. Who’s against protecting the environment? Everyone supports it!

I mean, political elites began speculating on issues that concern people. Is the environment important? It is very important. Is the climate changing? It is. Does this bother us? Yes, it does a lot. The question is, ”What do we do about it?“ Some political circles started speculating by saying, ”We’ll offer you a solution.“ But which one? Abandon traditional energy sources entirely, switch everyone over to wind, solar, or other forms of generation. That’s good, but it takes time, requires a lot of investment in new technologies. How will people live in many Asian countries, Africa? How? We must take things step-by-step, invest money in new technologies.

Geeta Mohan: Do you work on projects like this?

Vladimir Putin: Of course, we do.

Geeta Mohan: Rejecting fossil fuel sources?

Vladimir Putin: We’re not rejecting them; we’re developing new technologies and gradually changing things, yes. But that takes time and huge investments. Countries with insufficient level of economic development do not have these resources – they can’t invest in new types of energy. So what should they do? And the West imposes restrictive measures on them and says, ”Do whatever you want.“ In essence, this is a new form of neo-colonialism.

It’s quite obvious, but we just can’t allow it. We need to establish some common rules.

They [the Western countries] simply stalemate themselves. They shut down nuclear power plants, coal production, everything. How are they supposed to live? Now they have to open them again because cheap Russian gas isn’t available anymore—so everything is being launched again, all types of energy generation.

You know, over decades they have been constantly accusing us of being aggressive. Every issue, western countries try to resolve through some kind of pressure or by using force – military, political, or economic. That is the use of force in international affairs, exactly. That’s what it is.

Anjana Om Kashyap: They even take pride that they don’t recognise climate change. The US President declared that liberals had invented the myth about climate change.

Vladimir Putin: Partly he is right – it's not a myth, but an abuse of these processes for political purposes. He is absolutely right here, I agree with him.

Yet it requires coordinated, fair and honest work. If someone wants other countries to adopt cutting-edge technologies, then give them money, invest. Otherwise, don't impose restrictions on their goods.

Geeta Mohan: You met at CCC, the climate change conference, three of you together: there was Trump, you and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince bin Salman. It was quite a rare occasion.

Vladimir Putin: All countries do this one way or another, we do too. We have our own programme for modern renewable energy sources in several areas. In fact, Russia has one of the most environment-friendly energy systems in the world. Because we have vast resources in hydroelectricity, nuclear power, and gas energy, which is considered to be the ‘greenest’ one among hydrocarbons.

Let me say that the use of coal is growing in Europe now, there's no reason for them to criticise other nations for doing the same.

Comment: That's true.

Anjana Om Kashyap: You have a great sense of humour.

Founder of India Today Group Aroon Purie: Can I ask you one question?

Vladimir Putin: Sure.

Aroon Purie: You've been leading the Russian Federation for over 20–25 years and faced numerous crises. Do you regret anything? Looking back, would you do something in a different way?

Vladimir Putin: It's a traditional question, indeed, but, I think looking back and thinking that I would have done this or that differently, so to say, doesn’t make any sense. What’s done is done.

Overall… Well, you know, there's one general rule that I consider to be my rule – it's well-known: I try to do what I consider not just necessary, but something I have no right not to do, no matter what.

Comment: Great principal.

Vladimir Putin: Well, I don’t know how great it is, but it’s a sort of my inner rule that just came up in my life on its own. So to say, I do what I have no right not to do. That’s the most important thing.

Kalli Purie: We’ve been watching you for three days now, and we saw that you worked tirelessly exactly like our Prime Minister. Do you ever have a rest? Are you planning to have some rest on the New Year or Christmas holidays?

President Vladimir Putin: Who has worked in the intelligence agency, me or you? You have been watching me for three days.

Geeta Mohan: Thank you very much.

Can we have a photo with you?

(Taking a photo.)