“Let them train. All under control "

Putin on Valdai -2017: we have bad America, with the economy-good, and let's do without questions about the election

Vladimir Putin at a plenary meeting *of the Valdai International Discussion Club, Sochi, October 19, 2017. *Photo: kremlin.ru

Vladimir Putin was late at the plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi for only 40 minutes, which, by his standards, is the embodiment of punctuality. The meeting itself lasted more than three hours and it turned out to be a record. Nevertheless, the sensation, the possibility of which many foreign journalists in Moscow spoke of in recent days, did not happen: speaking to the experts of Valdai, Putin did not say a single word about whether he would go or would not go to a new presidential term.

A joke from the president

An attempt to raise a veil of secrets over his personal plans was nevertheless undertaken under the curtain of the discussion, when the limit of questions was exhausted by the president-the moderator, political scientist Fedor Lukyanov, tried to arrange the question in a jokingly-thawing form: we say, we never touched the election topic on our forum, but now it is important if you don’t go to the next Term), then how will we gather here (it turned out an indirect recognition that the “Valdai” site was created exclusively under Putin), we will be bored for you, you need the world and so on. “So, it’s time for us to finish,” Putin put an end. And then he told a “Anecdote with a beard”. “The beard is probably even longer than yours,” said Putin, looking at Lukyanov.

“One oligarch is not Aven (here Putin nodded at the head of the board of directors of Alfa-Bank Peter Aven sitting in the front row)-went bankrupt and tells his wife:“ We will have to sell our car and transfer to Lada. - "Fine". - "And also move out of the mansion in Rublevka and move to an ordinary apartment." - "Fine". “Will you love me the same?” - “I will love very much. And really miss. ”

It turned out to be indirectly recognized that while Putin is the president - they listen to him, even if he speaks “Valdai” from year to year about the same thing: the West in which the USA plays the first violin, immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he took up the world -class structure in his favor, completely ignoring the interests of Russia and generating the conflict for the conflict. The current performance did not become in this series an exception - in spirit. But according to the letter - it became: the president more than usual talked about the treachery and unreliability of the United States. Moreover, unlike previous speeches on Valdai, he took the 1990s as a reference point-that is, the period when, as it was usually believed, relations between our countries were good.

"We trusted you too much"

"What mistake did Russia make in relations with the West over the past 15 years?" - Putin asked the German political scientist Sabina Fisher. The president answered without hesitation: “Our mistake was that we trusted you too much (the West). And your mistake was that you abused this trust. ”

In his speech, Putin illustrated the “trusting” of Russia with a story of how in the 1990s, as part of the implementation of bilateral programs for the disposal of weapons uranium, American inspectors were admitted to the holy of the Holy of the Russian Nuclear Complex, at the most secret enterprises-620 verification visits in 1992 and 170 in 1993. According to Putin, the American observation post was equipped in the Urals, and the Americans actually went there to work, putting American flags on their tables, and 100 inspectors received the right to go to Russian regime objects at any time and without warning. “This lasted 10 years,” Putin emphasized, delicately by silently by silently the fact that all the details regarding the regime and regulations passed through mutual coordination, and the Americans took over the coordination of the programs: Russia had neither technical nor financial capabilities to realize them.

One of the speakers recalled how the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Andrei Kozyrev told the ex-president of the United States Richard Nixon that Russia has no national interests, but there are only universal ones, and Nixon shook his head in response. “This suggests that Nixon had a head, and Kozyrev has only a skull box,” Putin retorted with a replica on the verge of a foul

American politicians of different levels, by the way, have repeatedly cited that period as an example of the trust interaction of Russia and the United States on nuclear disarmament issues. But Putin has a slightly different interpretation: it was in those years, it turns out that it was born, grew strongly and grew like on yeast, American arrogance in relation to Russia: we honestly opened everything, ordered them, and they saw that we even had strategic industries in complete irritation, we decided that they certainly should not have ceremony with us, and they should not have served as a course. The breakup of established rules: from Belgrade’s bombardment to the organization of the armed coup in Ukraine.

The word is not a sparrow

American Toby Gati, a former adviser to President Clinton, remarked Putin that he did not say a single positive word about any of the American presidents all evening - does he think that he only strengthened the anti -American stereotypes that spread in Russia?

“These are not stereotypes, these are facts,” Putin retorted.

Is the anti -Russian hysteria in the USA? Fact. The fact that you tear off our flags from our diplomatic missions (referred to a recent diplomatic scandal) - a fact? Fact. What are the flags, Putin remembers how the United States fully supported separatism and radicalism in the (Northern) Caucasus: “I know this as a former FSB director, you don’t tell me,” Putin assured a naive American. However, she was not right - for the two US presidents, the President of Russia found kind words.

One of the speakers recalled how the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Andrei Kozyrev told the ex-president of the United States Richard Nixon that Russia has no national interests, but there are only universal ones, and Nixon shook his head in response. “This suggests that Nixon had a head, and Kozyrev had only a skull box,” Putin retorted with a hard replica on the verge of a foul.

Putin had another good word for Trump, which, according to him, was elected by the American people, and therefore he must be respected, especially since he went through the maids of the most difficult race and honestly won it. Trump attacks Putin attributed to the shortcomings of the American political system. As, however, the fact that the American political station is suspected of secret intervention of the elections on his side - so Russia is now at all suspected: no matter what they touch on, they are immediately looking for a Russian trace, Putin said with a reproach, and they immediately find it.

And it would be better to instead conscientiously treated their international obligations. Russia, for example, as promised, completely destroyed its chemical weapons reserves on September 27, 2017, although the world media preferred to ignore this fact. America was supposed to do the same back in 2007, but did not, but transferred to the 2023rd.

Instantly and mirror

The optionality of America and the West bothers Putin. But - not fatal, because Russia is always ready to answer "instantly and mirror." Therefore, many other things are not so disturbing him very much.

Some countries are now occupied by the latest developments not nuclear - no, but high -precision weapons with the amazing capabilities of the nuclear, Putin said the audience. But let no one feeds illusions - Russia will respond "instantly and mirror."

If our journalists in the United States, from the RT channel, will strangle, do not give work, "we will answer mirror."

If our team team, again at the command of the world backstage, will not be allowed to the Olympic Games in South Korea-"We will answer mirror."

To answer “mirror” for all external azimouth to the president, if you listen to it, allows the improved life within the country: the fourth quarter in a row demonstrates growth in Putin, the fourth quarter in a row, now it is 2-percent, in the country a record low inflation levels-3%, the country has a positive balance of sales and $ 420 billion reserves, and the price of oil, thanks Interaction with Saudi Arabia - more than 50 dollars per barrel - "and it suits us completely."

And when political scientist and deputy Vyacheslav Nikonov asked Putin if his placement of military infrastructure and NATO contingents is directly at our borders, the president with a satisfied grin said: “It does not bother us. Let them train. Everything is under control. "

Putin lives in his world, where, despite the eternal machinations of external enemies, "everything is under control." And therefore, the question of his personal plans for the future disappears by itself - everything is under control, you will not wait.