Putin reacts to NATO, extends a hand of peace to Trump: 'I have respect'

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a press conference following the Eurasian Economic Union Summit held in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Speaking about the results of the summit, Putin said, "We are satisfied with the results achieved; we have made certain assessments.

As the President of Belarus (Alexander Lukashenko) also said, we are approaching the end of our development strategy, which was calculated up to the current year. We are thinking about how to continue our joint work from here on. However, in general, it is impossible for us not to be satisfied with the results achieved. It satisfies us all.

Because the most important comprehensive indicator of the effectiveness of economies is the rate of economic growth. Our growth rate in the Eurasian Economic Union is higher than the world average. World growth, as is known, is 3.3 percent. In the Eurasian Economic Union, it is more than 4 percent, much more," he said.

Touching upon the negotiations with Ukraine, Russian President Putin said, "Regarding the negotiations, as expected, nothing unexpected happened. I will not tell you anything unexpected. These are two completely opposite memoranda, but negotiations are organized and conducted to seek ways of convergence. The fact that they are opposite is not a surprising situation for me, in my opinion.

I do not want to elaborate because I think it is unnecessary, and even harmful, to comment on negotiations in advance. We agreed that contacts would continue following the humanitarian initiative we proposed, that is, regarding the handover of the bodies of soldiers who lost their lives. So far, we have handed over more than 6 thousand bodies and we are ready to hand over about 3 thousand more, but the issue lies with the Ukrainian side; they need to accept the bodies of their soldiers who lost their lives," he said.

"WE THANK PRESIDENT MR. ERDOĞAN VERY MUCH"

Making a statement regarding the third round of negotiations with the Ukrainian side, Vladimir Putin said, "We decided to hold the third round of negotiations after this stage is completed. In general, we are ready for this. The place and time need to be decided. I hope that the President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Erdoğan, maintains his stance on supporting this process. We thank him very much for this. We are ready to hold such a meeting in Istanbul. However, the leaders of the two sides' negotiating groups will decide when it will be. These leaders are in constant communication, they are in operational contact with each other, they are constantly making phone calls, and I think this is a very good situation. They are currently in mutual consultation to determine the time of the next meeting. What will the topic be? In my opinion, the topic should be the discussion of the memoranda of both sides," he expressed.

"THE SO-CALLED WESTERN COMMUNITY TURNS EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN"

Touching upon Western countries at the press conference, Putin said, "First of all, the so-called Western community turns everything upside down. Why? Because both the increase in military spending and the militaristic enthusiasm you just mentioned are all based on a single thesis: Russia's aggression. Yet, everything is the exact opposite. Right now, the turning point of all these discussions is the year 2022, the beginning of the special military operation. Well, how did we, all of us, arrive at this special military operation, no one talks about that. How did it all start? We were, to put it bluntly, deceived regarding NATO not expanding to the east, we were 'screwed' as our people say. Because the whole world knows that the following promise was made to Russia: NATO will not move even an inch to the east. Then one wave of expansion followed another. What did we always say? The security of one country or a group of countries cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of another, and this is written in international documents accepted by all parties. So what happened in practice? One expansion followed another. And they kept telling us: 'You shouldn't be afraid of this, it won't pose a threat to you'. When we said 'This poses a threat to us', what answer did we get? Nothing. They just pushed us away along with our opinion, and no one cared about this opinion, nor did they want to," he stated.

"THE COLLECTIVE WEST SUPPORTED TERRORISM"

Emphasizing that they know well what constitutes a threat and what does not, the Russian leader said, "It is our right to determine our own level of security and the degree of threat that may approach us from one side or the other. But no one listened to us and everyone moved in that direction. Isn't this an aggressive behavior? This is the aggressive behavior that the West does not want to pay attention to. The same thing happened in our country; the collective West supported separatism in our country and terrorism as a tool of struggle against Russia. No one wanted to pay attention to ISIS operating in Russia, the explosions in Moscow, and everything that has happened recently. No one is interested in this. If it is against Russia, then everything is fine. Did we not see this? Everyone there sees and understands this very well, but they talk about other things, they talk about our aggression. Look at yourselves. We have a nice saying: They see the speck in someone else's eye, but they do not want to see the log in their own eye. And what happens? In this rhetorical environment based on Russia's so-called imaginary aggression, the necessity of armament begins to be discussed. Arm yourselves if you want. Let's look at the structure of these expenditures, this armament. I said the first part, we consider the reference to Russia's aggression to be completely baseless. We are not the ones who are aggressive, this so-called collective West is," he said.

"THEY STAGED A COUP, SUPPORTED IT, AND PAID FOR IT"

Stating that there was a Western-backed coup in Ukraine, Putin said, "First they came, they signed guarantees between the President, the Presidential office, and the opposition, then within a few days they staged a coup, supported it, paid for it, and admitted this to the public. Then they started saying that Russia was acting aggressively. What is this? Are they stupid themselves, or do they think we are stupid? Then, as we all know, what happened in Donbas for 8 years. For eight years, a bloody war was essentially waged against the civilian population. And for 8 years, we tried to reach an agreement to solve this problem through peaceful means. They deceived us, and they admitted this to the public as well. Both the former German Chancellor and the former French President openly said that they did not intend to fulfill the Minsk Agreements; they signed them all just to arm the Ukrainian regime. And for eight years, they waged this undeclared war," he said.

"IF THEY WANT TO INCREASE THEIR MILITARY SPENDING, THEY CAN"

Stating that they had to use their Armed Forces in full compliance with the UN Charter to end the war, Putin said, "This one-sided game is over. If they want to increase their military spending, they can. But this also shows their aggression. I don't want to make political analogies right now, because the causes of the conflict are completely different. But if we look at it only from a financial and economic perspective, for example, during the Korean War waged by the USA, they were spending 14 percent of their budget. And during the Vietnam War, it was 10 percent. Of course, they were solving these problems mainly by increasing taxes on high-income individuals. While macroeconomics was not paid attention to in the first case, there was a more sensible approach in the second case. But we are fighting for a healthy macroeconomy. Now, regarding the expenditures. Is 6.3 percent too little or too much? 6.3 percent of Russia's GDP is for defense needs. 6.3 percent of Russia's GDP is for defense needs. This means 13.5 trillion (6.8 trillion lira) rubles. And our total GDP is 223 trillion rubles (113.4 trillion lira). What is happening in Western countries? They are constantly burying us. They themselves will die there soon. But they are constantly, incessantly burying us. Our economic growth last year was 4.3 percent, and 4.1 percent the year before that. Growth in the Eurozone is 0.9 percent. In Europe's leading economies, in the centers of industrial development, in Germany and France, everything is balanced on the verge of recession," he expressed.

"IF EVERYTHING OF OURS IS FALLING APART, HOW ARE WE PLANNING TO ATTACK NATO"

Touching upon the talk that Russia will soon suffer a strategic defeat, Vladimir Putin said, "At the same time, it is also being voiced that we are planning to attack NATO countries. Where is the logic? If everything of ours is falling apart, how are we planning to attack NATO? They are talking nonsense, they definitely don't believe it themselves, but they are trying to make their own people believe it so that they can extract more money from the people to accept the heavy financial burden in the social sphere. By the way, what are we spending these trillions on to a large extent? On supporting our defense industry, ourselves, our loved ones, and our family. So what will they spend their 5 percent on? On shopping from the USA and supporting their defense industry. This is not our business, it is theirs. If they want to, let them do it," he stated.

Stating that they plan to cut defense spending, Putin said, "We are planning this for next year, the year after that, and the near 3-year period. There is no definitive agreement between the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Economic Development right now, but in general, everyone is thinking in this direction. Europe, on the other hand, is thinking about how to increase its defense spending. So who is preparing for aggressive actions, us or them? That is why all their rhetoric about what they will increase, let them increase it. But this situation will not improve their business in the field of security, and it will constantly worsen it in the economic and social sphere," he said.

WARNED ABOUT SANCTIONS

Answering a question regarding the sanctions imposed on Russia, Vladimir Putin said, "The more sanctions there are, the worse it is for those who impose these sanctions. This also applies to France, and to the European economy in general. Because if you look at the statistics, the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has increased: Europe has started to buy more. How much is it there today, a little over 400 euros per thousand cubic meters? The oil price has dropped a little right now, but not a little, from 75 to 65 or 66, how much is it there right now, it is constantly fluctuating. The volume of oil and petroleum products consumed in the world is increasing with the growth of the economy itself, there is no escape from this, the volumes are increasing, but production is only increasing in the amount we agreed upon within the framework of 'OPEC plus', and this is calculated especially for the increased demand in summer. Do you understand, I don't see anything here that will benefit the European economy," he said.

"I HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES"

Speaking about his relationship with US President Donald Trump, Russian President Putin said, "I have great respect for the current President of the United States. The process of returning to power and to the White House was very difficult, complex, and dangerous, we all know this well, he even faced assassination attempts on his life, and more than one. He is a brave person, this is clearly evident. We certainly appreciate very much what he has done within his country, the activities he has carried out regarding the situation in the Middle East, and his efforts towards the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis. I have said this before, and I want to express it once again in public: I believe that President Trump is truly and sincerely striving for the resolution of the Ukrainian issue," he expressed.

"RELATIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA ARE STARTING TO STABILIZE"

Making a statement regarding the possibility of a face-to-face meeting with Trump, Putin said, "I am always open to contacts, to meetings. I know that Mr. Trump has also spoken about a possible meeting. I think like him: Such meetings should be prepared, and as a result, we should reach some new stages in cooperation. In general, thanks to President Trump, relations between Russia and the USA are starting to stabilize, at least in some areas. Not everything has been resolved in the field of diplomatic relations, but the first steps have been taken and we are continuing to move forward. Working-level contacts have been established between the basic institutions, between the Russian and US Ministries of Foreign Affairs and intelligence services. Because, for example, an area like counter-terrorism is important for us under any circumstances. We also continue our contacts through some other institutions," he stated.

Stating that contacts in the field of economic cooperation are also going well, Putin said, "The US business world is showing a desire to return, they are making efforts and sending us signals that they want to return to our market. We will welcome this. All of this needs to be prepared step by step. In general, such a meeting is quite possible, and we will gladly prepare for it," he said.