MOSCOW, March 13, Renat Abdullin. President country gave a large-scale interview to the General Director of the International Media Group «Russia Today» Dmitry Kiselev — to clarify the questions that remained or arose after the message to the Federal Assembly on February 29. About the main thing in this conversation — in the material .
Not daringly, we started with a discussion of Russia’s most ambitious economic plans, such as the construction of the Sochi-Dzhubga highway, and an assessment of whether the country has enough resources to implement all the announced projects. «Isn't it too cocky in general?» — Kiselev asked. “No,” the president answered firmly. And he explained why. In particular, thanks to unprecedented economic growth. Which “was recorded not by us, but by international economic and financial organizations.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin during an interview with the CEO of the Rossiya Segodnya media group Dmitry Kiselev in Moscow
We touched on sanctions. There is talk about creating some kind of special body to combat Western pressure. The authorities are not planning anything like this. “There is no need,” Putin noted, emphasizing that some of the prohibitions under the guise of military and economic are purely political and demonstrative in nature.
Speaking about economic growth, the president also pointed out certain problems. We need restructuring and an emphasis on innovative industries. And spending on defense, Putin added, is relatively small compared to both the late USSR and the United States. At the same time, the military-industrial complex as a whole is accelerating the economy, the main task is “so that for every ruble invested in the defense industry we get the maximum return.”
We touched upon the issue of a progressive tax. First of all, society needs this, the head of state is sure. The corresponding proposals will be considered in the near future.
“Promises alone are not enough” Of course, a lot of attention was paid to the special military operation. «How to advance with minimal losses?» — asked Kiselev. Putin gave, in his own words, a “simple answer”: “We need to increase means of destruction. The number and power of means of destruction. Increase the effectiveness of the forces and means used.”
And he reminded: Russia is open to peaceful initiatives. But unfriendly countries talk about this only when they need to. You shouldn't fall for such tricks. “We were promised a lot of things, so promises alone are not enough. Now to negotiate just because they are running out of ammunition is somehow ridiculous on our part,” the president emphasized.
Flags on the table at which Russian-speaking Ukrainian negotiations
Moscow will be satisfied not with “a pause that the enemy wants to take for rearmament, but with a serious conversation with guarantees of the security of the Russian Federation,” he clarified.
In the meantime, some leaders are taking a completely different course. For example, French President Macron, who did not rule out sending NATO troops to Ukraine. “The military of Western countries have been present in Ukraine for a long time, they were present even before the coup, and after the coup their number has increased exponentially,” Putin said. “<…> But if we are talking about official military contingents of foreign states, then I am sure this will not change situation on the battlefield. This is the most important thing.»
Nevertheless, a direct clash with the West is not yet predetermined. “The United States announced that they are not going to send troops. We know what American troops are on Russian territory, they are interventionists. We will treat it this way, even if they appear on the territory of Ukraine. They understand this. I “he said that Biden is a person, a representative of a traditional political school, this is confirmed,” the president explained.
US President Joe Biden during a speech in Congress at the Capitol 
«Open to negotiations»Despite its openness to negotiations, Russia is considering all, even unimaginable, options for the development of events — if unfriendly countries escalate. «Are we really ready for nuclear war?» — Kiselev addressed the head of state.
“From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” he confirmed. “We [weapons] are constantly in a state of combat readiness. This is the first, and the second, and this is also a generally recognized thing, our triad, the nuclear triad, it is more modern than any other triad. And such triads are only here in our country and in fact in the Americans. And we have advanced much more here. We have it more modern — the entire nuclear component. In general, in terms of carriers and charges, we have approximate parity, but ours is more modern. Everyone knows this, experts know everything.»
At the same time, Moscow is skeptical about the idea of nuclear tests as a demonstration of force. Although Putin admitted that if the United States decides to do this, we will take similar measures. “If they conduct such tests, I don’t exclude it, it’s not necessary, we need it, we don’t need it, we still need to think about it, but I don’t exclude that we can do the same,” he said.
Launch of the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile
About smart and dangerous opponents The West acts not only against Russia, but also to its own detriment. “In their own countries, they also fool people, and this has an effect,” the president noted. “In many countries they believe that this is in their interests, because they do not want to have such a huge country like Russia, the largest in the world, on their borders in territory, the largest in Europe in terms of population. <…> And now the fifth largest in the world in terms of economic size. Well, why do we need such a competitor?»
According to the head of Russia, Putin, the United States and Europe were probably “even delighted” when Russia began making “attempts to end the war unleashed by the West in Ukraine since 2014 by force, when we switched to a special military operation.” But subsequent events showed that the scenarios of Moscow’s “strategic defeat” nurtured by Western leaders are unrealistic. “Instead of strategic defeat, they are faced with powerlessness <…> with powerlessness before the unity of the Russian people, before the fundamental foundations of the Russian financial and economic system, its stability and before the growing capabilities of the armed forces,” the head of state emphasized.
With this This is due to the fact that they began to remember the negotiations more often. “Those who are smarter began to think that it would be necessary to change some kind of strategy regarding the Russian Federation.”
“These are dangerous people, by the way,” Putin warned. “Do you remember what they used to say in Rus'?” the president turned to history and folklore. “For some people, at the everyday level, happiness consisted of: ‘fed, drunk and with tobacco on your nose.’ It’s easier with such people. Well-fed, drunk — that is, I ate, got drunk. My nose is covered in tobacco, because they used snuff. Now my nose is covered in cocaine, right? But it doesn’t matter, it’s easier with these people.»
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky
“It’s more difficult with smart people, they are more dangerous, because they influence the consciousness of society, including ours. They will throw out all sorts of their “wants” in the guise of carrots for us. You already drew attention to this when you asked a question about the possibility of a negotiation process «But nevertheless, this is where the contradictions within the Western community arose. This is an obvious thing, we see it. We are not going to engage in splits there, they themselves will do it brilliantly. But we will certainly strive to ensure that our interests are respected,» he repeated once again head of state.
As for what country Putin wants to leave to his grandchildren, at the first stage it is necessary to fulfill everything that was stated in the message to the Federal Assembly at the end of February. “We have big plans, they are of a very specific nature — in the field of economic development, in the social field, support for motherhood, childhood, families with children, support for pensioners,” the president said. Of course, Russia must remain self-sufficient in ensuring its security and defense. All Russians will help this — and the future is guaranteed.