On September 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin made several notable statements at the Eastern Economic Forum 2023 (EEF 2023).
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Eastern Economic Forum on September 12 in Vladivostok, Russia. |
Commenting on the possibility of running for president of Russia in 2024, President Vladimir Putin said: “According to the law, the parliament must set a date by the end of the year, then we will talk (about it).” Earlier, amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation gave Mr. Putin the right to run for president in 2024. Mr. Putin noted that thanks to this opportunity, officials will work, instead of calculating for their successor.
Notably, Mr Putin responded to the host's comment that several countries, including Budapest and Prague, criticized the Soviet Union for sending troops into Hungary and Czechoslovakia (now divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) in 1956 and 1968.
“It has long been recognized that this part of Soviet policy is wrong and leads only to tension. It is wrong to do anything in foreign policy that harms the interests of other peoples. But it is precisely on the basis of these actions that the leading Western countries are taking today,” the leader said.
Commenting on Russia in 1990 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he said: “In the 1990s, we achieved a lot, I mean liberation and freedom, but unfortunately we also lost a lot. They thoughtlessly spent or squandered what was achieved in the previous decade, during the Soviet Union.”
President Vladimir Putin has previously said that Russia was in a weak state in the 1990s, dependent on various financial instruments and had lost some of its sovereignty. President Putin also referred to Moscow’s failure after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with Washington’s efforts to “divide the Russians from the Ukrainians.”
Regarding the conflict in Ukraine , he noted that Ukraine will use the possibility of a ceasefire to rearm. The leader reiterated his assessment that Ukraine's counteroffensive had "failed" and that Kiev had lost 71,500 people. He stated: "The losses (of the Ukrainian army) are huge - 543 tanks, 18,000 armored vehicles of various types..."
Regarding China , President Vladimir Putin affirmed that Russia and this country have reached an unprecedented level of cooperation in recent years: “Indeed, in recent years, our relations have reached an unprecedented level, this applies to all areas of interaction of our two countries.”
On the contrary, he emphasized that the US always considers Russia a permanent enemy. According to President Vladimir Putin, no matter who is the next head of the White House, bilateral relations will still be difficult to improve. At the same time, he said that the prosecution of former US President Donald Trump is a "politically motivated" act aimed at an "opponent".
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