Video Of Interview

Vladimir Putin faced a barrage of tricky questions from French media

ahead of his meeting with world leaders at the 70th anniversary of the

Normandy landings. Here are his best replies on key issues: Ukraine,

Crimea and relations with the US.

Transcript

QUESTION (via interpreter): Good afternoon Mr President. Good

afternoon, President Putin. Thank you very much for agreeing to give

this exclusive interview to Radio Europe 1 and the TF1 TV channel at your Sochi residence.

On Thursday evening you will meet with President Francois Hollande in

the Elysee Palace, and the next day you will attend the D-Day 70th

Anniversary Commemoration. This will be your first trip to the beaches

of Normandy, and you will be the first Russian President to attend the

ceremony. What do you as a Russian citizen think about being invited to this exceptional ceremony?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: This will be an important event for Europe and the

rest of the world. We will pay tribute to those who prevented Nazism

from enslaving Europe, and I believe that Russia’s attendance is a

momentous event. The thing is that Russia and the anti-Hitler

coalition countries, including France, were allies in that struggle

for freedom, and my country played a vital and maybe even the decisive

role in defeating Nazism. But we’ll never forget the French Resistance

fighters and the French soldiers who fought side by side with us on

the Soviet-German front, which is also called the Eastern front. I

believe that this should not only remind us about our history, but also help to promote our relations now and in the future.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Of course, you and Russia will take your

rightful place on the beaches of Normandy. You lived in the Soviet

Union until you were 40, you saw its collapse, and now you are

actively contributing to Russia’s revival. What would you like to see happen now?

What are your goals? Is Russia’s strategy a path of dialogue or

expansion and conquest?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Well, a policy of expansionism and conquest has no

future in the modern world. We’re confident that Russia can and should

be a partner with its traditional allies, in the broad sense, now and also in the future.

 

This is what we want, and this is what we will keep working towards.

We see no other way to develop relations with our neighbours and all

other countries.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Do you want to defend the Russian nation

or to become the symbol of Russian nationalism and the Russian Empire?

We remember what you said about the Soviet Union’s dissolution. You

said that it was the worst geopolitical disaster of the 20th century.

You also said that those who do not regret the collapse of the Soviet

Union have no heart, and those who want to restore it have no brains. You have brains. What do you propose:

Russian nationalism, or the restoration of the Russian Empire to its

previous borders?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We will not promote Russian nationalism, and we do not

intend to revive the Russian Empire. What did I mean when I said that

the Soviet Union’s collapse was one of the largest humanitarian –

above all humanitarian – disasters of the 20th century? I meant that

all the citizens of the Soviet Union lived in a union state

irrespective of their ethnicity, and after its collapse 25 million Russians suddenly became foreign citizens.

It was a huge humanitarian disaster. Not a political or ideological

disaster, but a purely humanitarian upheaval. Families were divided;

people lost their jobs and means of subsistence, and had no means to

communicate with each other normally. This was the problem.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): And what about the future?

 

Do you want to restore the empire within the former borders or do you

want to continue developing your country within your own borders?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We want to develop our country within our own borders,

of course. But – and this is very important – like other countries in

other parts of the world, we want to use modern policies to improve

our competitive advantage, including economic integration. This is

what we are doing in the post-Soviet space within the Customs Union

and now also within the Eurasian Union.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Mr Putin, we are now talking about why a

neighbouring country, Ukraine, is being torn apart by war. There is no

other word for it. Now pro-Russian forces want to breach Ukraine’s

borders. Who can stop them and what is your policy?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I wouldn’t call them either pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian.

They are people who have certain rights, political, humanitarian

rights, and they must have a chance to exercise those rights.

 

For example, in Ukraine governors are still appointed by Kiev. After

the anti-constitutional coup in Kiev last February, the first thing

the new authorities tried to do was deprive the ethnic minorities of

the right to use their native language. This caused great concern

among the people living in eastern Ukraine.

 

QUESTION: You did not let this happen but are you saying that we are

on the verge of another Cold War?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I hope we are not on the verge of any war. Second, I

insist that people – wherever they live – have their rights and they

must be able to fight for them. That’s the point.

 

QUESTION: Is there any risk of a war? Now, as we see tanks on their

way from Kiev, many people in France are asking this question. Were

you tempted to send troops to eastern Ukraine?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: This is an interview, which implies short questions

and short answers. But if you have patience and give me a minute, I

will tell you how we see it. Here’s our position. What actually

happened there? There was a conflict and that conflict arose because

the former Ukrainian president refused to sign an association

agreement with the EU. Russia had a certain stance on this issue. We

believed it was indeed unreasonable to sign that agreement because it

would have a grave impact on the economy, including the Russian

economy. We have 390 economic agreements with Ukraine and Ukraine is a

member of the free trade zone within the CIS. And we wouldn’t be able

to continue this economic relationship with Ukraine as a member of the free trade zone. We discussed this with our European partners.

Instead of continuing the debates by legitimate and diplomatic means,

our European friends and our friends from the United States supported

the anti-constitutional armed coup. This is what happened. We did not

cause this crisis to happen. We were against this course of events but

after the anti-constitutional coup – let’s face it, after all…

 

QUESTION: But now we see so much tension in politics. Yet despite

this, you will be in Normandy speaking about peace while Barack Obama

keeps urging Europe to arm itself.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Well, we must always talk about peace but we should

understand the causes and nature of the crisis. The point is no one

should be brought to power through an armed anti-constitutional coup,

and this is especially true of the post-Soviet space where government

institutions are not fully mature. When it happened some people

accepted this regime and were happy about it while other people, say,

in eastern and southern Ukraine just won’t accept it. And it is vital

to talk with those people who didn’t accept this change of power

instead of sending tanks there, as you said yourself, instead of

firing missiles at civilians from the air and bombing non-military targets.

 

QUESTION: But, Mr President, the United States and the White House

claim they have evidence that Russia intervened in the conflict, sent

its troops and supplied weapons. They claim they have proof. Do you believe that?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Proof? Why don’t they show it? The entire world

remembers the US Secretary of State demonstrating the evidence of

Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, waving around some test tube with

washing powder in the UN Security Council. Eventually, the US troops

invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein was hanged and later it turned out there

had never been any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. You know, it’s

one thing to say things and another to actually have evidence. I will

tell you again: no Russian troops…

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Are you saying the US is lying?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Yes, it is. There are no armed forces, no Russian

‘instructors’ in southeastern Ukraine. And there never were any.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): So you do not want to annex Ukraine and

you never tried to destabilise the situation there?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We never did that. The Ukrainian government must now

sit down and talk with their own people instead of using weapons,

tanks, planes and helicopters. They must start the negotiating process.

 

QUESTION(via interpreter): The new Ukrainian president was elected on

May 25 through a democratic vote. Do you recognise Mr Poroshenko as a

legitimate president?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I’ve already told you and will say it again: we will

respect the choice of the Ukrainian people and we will cooperate with

Ukrainian authorities.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): In other words, if you meet him on 6 June

on the beaches of Normandy, and if President Hollande helps to make

this meeting possible, will you shake hands with him? Will you talk with him?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: You know, I don’t plan to evade anyone. President

Hollande kindly invited me as the representative of Russia to attend

this commemoration, even though the event it will commemorate was

tragic. I was pleased to accept his invitation, and I’m grateful to

the President for inviting me. There will be other guests, and I’m not

going to avoid any of them. I will talk with all of them.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): But will you meet with Poroshenko? You

said you would only work with him on the condition that he would not

totally yield to US influence.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I didn’t say that he shouldn’t yield to US influence.

He is free to accept any influence he wants. Ukrainians voted for him,

and he is free to develop a policy. If he chooses to accept anyone’s

strong influence, let him. But I wouldn’t…

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Do you recognise Ukraine’s sovereignty and

its neutral stance with respect to relations between Russia and the West?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Yes, we recognise its sovereignty. Moreover, we’d like

Ukraine to act as a sovereign state. Joining any military bloc or any

other rigid integration alliance amounts to a partial loss of

sovereignty. But if a country opts for this and wants to cede part of

its sovereignty, it’s free to do so. Regarding Ukraine and military

blocs, this is what worries us, because if Ukraine joins, say, NATO,

NATO’s infrastructure will move directly towards the Russian border, which cannot leave us indifferent.

 

QUESTION: Mr President, Russian troops annexed Crimea recently. Will

you ever give it back?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: It’s a delusion that Russian troops annexed Crimea.

Russian troops did nothing of the kind. Frankly…

 

QUESTION: But Crimea has been included on the map of Russia, the kind

of maps we used in school. It’s part of Russia now. What was it,

annexation or reunification? Which word should we use?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: If you’ll let me finish, I think you’ll see what I mean.

 

Russian troops were in Crimea under the international treaty on the

deployment of the Russian military base. It’s true that Russian troops

helped Crimeans hold a referendum on their (a) independence and (b)

desire to join the Russian Federation. No one can prevent these people

from exercising a right that is stipulated in Article 1 of the UN

Charter, the right of nations to self-determination.

 

QUESTION: In other words, you will not return Crimea [to Ukraine]?

Crimea is Russia, is that it?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: In accordance with the expression of the will of

people who live there, Crimea is part of the Russian Federation and

its constituent entity.

 

I want everyone to understand this clearly. We conducted an

exclusively diplomatic and peaceful dialogue – I want to stress this –

with our partners in Europe and the United States. In response to our

attempts to hold such a dialogue and to negotiate an acceptable

solution, they supported the anti-constitutional state coup in

Ukraine, and following that we could not be sure that Ukraine would

not become part of the North Atlantic military bloc. In that

situation, we could not allow a historical part of the Russian

territory with a predominantly ethnic Russian population to be

incorporated into an international military alliance, especially because Crimeans wanted to be part of Russia. I am sorry, but we couldn’t act differently.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): So, Francois Hollande has invited you to

France, to Paris and Normandy. You know him very well. Can you move

further forward, and can you describe your relations as confidential?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Yes, I think so.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Do you think so, or are you sure?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I’ve always thought so. I see no reasons to think otherwise.

We have very good interstate relations, but we have much to do yet to

promote our economic ties.

 

But our personal relations have always been trust-based, which helps

in work as well. I hope it will stay this way.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): You are talking about trust-based

relations – both in defence and the economy. You have paid over a

billion euros for two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, and

Russian naval officials are to visit Saint-Nazaire in a few days. Have

you given them special permission to go to France?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Yes, of course. I believe we are living in a

civilised world and we will all continue to fulfil our obligations and

contractual commitments. I’ve heard a lot of talk about these ships

going to Russia and some people believe that Russia shouldn’t get

them. You know, here in Russia we had a lot of opposition to this

contract. France is entitled to decide against selling the ships, but in that case we should get out money back.

This would mean that out countries won’t have an opportunity to

develop ties in the defence sector – but overall we are ready to

expand our cooperation and even to place new orders, if our French partners are interested.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Despite external pressure, you have asked

France to supply these assault ships – and if France does it you may

place other orders as well, right?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We expect our French partners to fulfil their

contractual obligations, and if everything goes as we agreed, we will

not rule out the possibility of further orders – and not necessarily

in naval shipbuilding; they may concern other sectors as well.

Overall, our relations in this area are developing well, and we would

like to continue strengthening them – in aviation, shipbuilding, and

other sectors. We have successful cooperation experience in space exploration, at the Guiana Space Centre near Kourou.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Do you think France is a sovereign and

independent state whose opinion is respected? What do you think of Germany?

You speak with Angela Merkel in both Russian and German, while

François Hollande doesn’t speak Russian and you don’t speak French. Do

you have a common language of communication?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: The fact that I don’t speak French and Mr Hollande

doesn’t speak Russian is not a barrier for us. It does not prevent us

from speaking a common language, and we understand each other well

even via an interpreter.

 

Speaking of the level of sovereignty, I will say it again – any

country that becomes a member of a military alliance gives away some

of its sovereignty to a supranational body. For Russia, this would be

unacceptable. As for other countries, it has nothing to do with us.

They have to decide such matters for themselves. In this regard, I

think of the Gaullist tradition and General Charles de Gaulle, who

protected France’s sovereignty. I think this deserves respect. And

there’s another example: François Mitterrand, who spoke of European

confederation, with Russia as its member. I think this opportunity still exists and we will have it in the future.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): My next question concerns the United

States. You will meet with Barack Obama in a few days, you will sit a

few metres away from him. But he doesn’t seem to be willing to speak

to you. What will this meeting be like and how will relations develop

between the world’s richest country and its largest country? How can

you avoid speaking to each other when there’s a real need for this since the war is not too far off?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Well, you’re exaggerating about the war being not far off.

You seem to be feeling aggressive. Whatever gave you this idea, and

why are you determined to frighten us all? As for…

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Because Ukraine is near Russia.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: So what?

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): And this is where the war is going on.

When he mentioned the war, he said it is not far off.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: There is a punitive operation launched by Kiev’s

government against the country’s own citizens. It is not a war between

states, it is something entirely different. As for…

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Do you think it should be stopped immediately?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I think Mr Poroshenko, who has no blood on his hands

so far, has a unique chance to halt this punitive operation now and

start a dialogue with people in southeastern Ukraine.

 

As for my relations with Barack Obama, I have no reason whatsoever to

believe he is not willing to talk to the President of Russia. But

ultimately, it is his choice. I am always ready for dialogue, and I

think that dialogue is the best way to bridge any gaps. We have been

in contact until now, we have talked on the telephone regularly.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Russia and the United States are

experiencing some problems. Are these problems between two powers or

between two people, Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Problems between countries always exist, especially

between such big countries as Russia and the United States. There have

always been some issues, but I don’t think we should go to extremes.

At any rate, it wouldn’t be our choice. I’m always willing to talk to

any of my partners, including President Obama.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): So you are willing to talk and you regret

what is happening? But don’t you think the United States is trying to

surround Russia, to make you weaker as a leader and perhaps isolate

you from the world? You are being very diplomatic now but you know the facts.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Facts? You’ve said it yourself: Russia is the biggest

country in the world. It would be very difficult to surround it, and

the world is changing so fast that it would basically be impossible,

even in theory.

 

Of course, we can see attempts by the United States to pressure their

allies by employing their obvious leadership in the Western community,

in order to influence Russia’s policy.

 

Russia’s policy is based solely on its national interests. Of course,

we take the opinions of our partners into account but we are guided by

the interests of the Russian people.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Mr President, it is very convenient that

you are meeting with Mr Obama on June 6. Perhaps, it would be worse if

you were meeting with Hillary Clinton. Only a few days ago, she said

that what Russia is doing in Eastern Europe resembles what Hitler was doing in the 1930s.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: It’s better not to argue with women. But Ms Clinton

has never been too graceful in her statements. Still, we always met

afterwards and had cordial conversations at various international

events. I think even in this case we could reach an agreement. When

people push boundaries too far, it’s not because they are strong but

because they are weak. But maybe weakness is not the worst quality for a woman.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Women must be respected, of course, and

I’m sure you respect them. Do you think she went too far? There is a

lot of mockery and cartoons in the media – including those showing

you. What was your first reaction? Were you angry? Did you want to get

back at her or laugh? We have never seen you laugh.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Someday I will indulge myself and we will laugh

together at some good joke. But when I hear such extreme statements,

to me it only means that they don’t have any valid arguments. Speaking

of US policy, it’s clear that the United States is pursuing the most

aggressive and toughest policy to defend their own interests – at

least, this is how the American leaders see it – and they do it persistently.

 

There are basically no Russian troops abroad while US troops are everywhere.

There are US military bases everywhere around the world and they are

always involved in the fates of other countries even though they are

thousands of kilometres away from US borders. So it is ironic that our

US partners accuse us of breaching some of these rules.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): But you have taken some decisions

regarding your defence budget. Are you as President taking any special

decisions on security and defence now, because the general environment is more risky?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Regarding the defence budget. I’d like to say, for

reference’ sake, because only the analysts know this, that the defence

budget of the United States, which we talked about only yesterday, is

larger than the combined military budgets of every country in the

world – every country – combined. So who’s pursuing an aggressive policy?

 

As for our [defence] budget, it has hardly grown in terms of percent

of GDP, barely by one-tenth of a percent. But we want to rearm our

army and navy based on modern, advanced technology, by reducing

quantity and improving quality. We have a relevant rearmament

programme, and it was not adopted yesterday or in response to the

Ukrainian crisis. It has been our policy, which we will continue to implement.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Mr President, Syrian leader Bashar Assad

has been re-elected president without much effort. Can you influence

him? Can you ask him to order his army to stop its atrocities, to stop

fighting their own people?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: All sides are guilty of atrocities there, but

primarily the extremist organisations that are thriving in Syria. We

are mostly worried about…

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Religious, Islamic [organisations]…

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: …those organisations that are directly connected with

Al Qaeda. There are many of them there, which no one tries to deny any longer.

It’s a general fact. But we are mostly worried that the wrong action

could turn Syria into another Afghanistan, a completely uncontrollable

spawning ground for the terrorist threat, including for European

countries. All the terrorists who are operating there now would

eventually move to other countries, including in Europe.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): We don’t quite understand why you,

Vladimir Putin, the man who wants to modernise Russia, support a

person who is killing his own people, who is covered in their blood. How can this be?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I’ll explain very simply and clearly, and I hope that

the majority of the French people who are watching and listening to

this interview will understand me. We very much fear that Syria will

fall apart like Sudan. We very much fear that Syria will follow in the

footsteps of Iraq or Afghanistan. This is why we would like the legal

authority to remain in power in Syria, so that Russia can cooperate

with Syria and with ours partners in Europe and the United States to

consider possible methods to change Syrian society, to modernise the

regime and make it more viable and humane.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): I’d like to ask you about your country, Russia.

How would you describe its current political regime? Some describe it

as a democracy, while others argue that Russia is so huge that it

needs an iron hand. How does Vladimir Putin define the Putin regime?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: The current regime is not connected to any particular

person, including the incumbent President. We have common democratic

state institutions, although they reflect Russia’s needs. What are

they? The overwhelming majority of Russian citizens tend to rely on

their traditions, their history and, if I may say so, their

traditional values. I see this as the foundation and a factor of

stability in the Russian state, but none of this is associated with

the President as an individual. Moreover, it should be remembered that

we only started introducing standard democratic institutions recently. They are still in the process of evolving.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Can a person stand in opposition to the

authorities in Russia without fear of losing his ties and reputation,

without being punished?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We have many opposition parties, and we have recently

liberalised the procedure for registering political parties. We have

dozens of parties that participate in municipal and regional elections.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): But is it possible to be a personal

opponent of Vladimir Putin without exposing oneself to risks?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: If you listen to some of our radio stations and watch

some TV shows, I assure you, you are unlikely to find anything similar

to this kind of opposition in France.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): There have always been periods of strict

order and authoritarian power in Russia. But in the age of the

Internet, can a country develop by restricting freedoms?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: It is impossible and we are not restricting the

Internet. We have certain… You know, whatever we do, someone tries to

find something that goes against democratic principles, including the

Internet. Are there any restrictions in Russia? I don’t believe so.

Some of our opponents say there are unacceptable restrictions. What

kind of restrictions do we have? For example, we have banned the promotion of suicide, drugs and pedophilia.

These are our restrictions. What’s wrong with that?

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): And homosexuality. It is not pedophilia,

it’s a different story.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: That’s not true, we did not ban homosexuality. We

banned the promotion of homosexuality among minors. You see, these are

two different things. In the United States, since we talked about it,

homosexuality is illegal in some states. We impose no criminal

liability whatsoever. We banned only promoting homosexuality among

minors. It is our right to protect our children and we will do it.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): We would like to talk about the end of

your term in 2018. We would like to talk about labour camps. We find

such things surprising in the West. For example, Pussy Riot were

sentenced to a term in labour camps, and it wasn’t just an ordinary

prison. Will you close those camps by the end of your term?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: These are not camps. These are places where the inmates’

freedom is limited but they can live a more or less normal life. These

are not prisons where people are not allowed to work.

 

Prisons where people can’t even work is the worst punishment you can

think of. And I don’t think we should put all convicts in such

facilities where people are deprived of their freedom. I think it is

much worse than what you are describing.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Who convinced you that you are carrying

out a special mission for Russia?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Why do you think that I believe I’m carrying out a

special mission? I have the trust of my voters. Over 63% of Russian

citizens voted for me. I believe I hold a national mandate to carry

out domestic and foreign policy, and I will fulfil my obligations under this mandate.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Do you have a role model in the Russian history?

Are you guided by Soviet or Russian politics?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I have great love and respect for Russian history and

culture. But the world is changing and Russia is too. Russia is part

of the modern world, not the world of the past but the modern world.

And I believe it has an even greater future than some other countries

that can’t take care of their young people, of the new generations, of

their children, and believe that they can just let things slide.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): And the last question, Mr President. In

2013, Forbes rated you as the most powerful person in the world. Were

you flattered by this title?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: You know, I’m an adult and I know what power means in

the modern world. In the modern world, power is mainly defined by such

factors as the economy, defence and cultural influence. I believe that

in terms of defence, Russia is without any doubt one of the leaders

because we are a nuclear power and our nuclear weapons are perhaps the best in the world.

 

With regard to cultural influence, we are proud of the Russian culture

– literature, the arts and so on.

 

As for the economy, we are aware that we still have a lot to do before

we reach the top. Although lately, we have made major strides forward

and are now the fifth largest economy in the world. It is a success

but we can do more.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): We don’t know yet how Vladimir Putin’s era

will go down in history. What would you like to be remembered for? And

would you like to be seen as a democrat or an authoritarian leader?

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: I would like to be remembered as a person who did his

best for the happiness and prosperity of his country and his people.

 

QUESTION (via interpreter): Thank you very much. Have a good trip to

France, Mr President. Good-bye.

 

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Thank you.