All language subtitles for TIE

the following is an interview with

the president of Russia

Vladimir Putin

shot February 6th, 2024

at about seven PM in the building behind us

which is of course

the Kremlin

the interview

as you will see if you watch it

is primarily about the war in progress

the war in Ukraine

how it started

what's happening

and most presently

how it might end

one note before you watch

at the beginning of the interview

we ask the most obvious question

which is why did you do this

did you feel a threat

an imminent physical threat

and that's your justification

and the answer we got shocked us

Putin went on for a very long time

probably half an hour

about the history of Russia

going back to the 8th century

and honestly

we thought this was a filibustering technique

and found it annoying

interrupted him several times

and he responded

he was annoyed by the interruption

but we concluded in the end

for what it's worth

that it was not a filibustering technique

there was no time limit on the interview

we ended it after more than two hours

instead what you're about to see seem to us sincere

whether you agree with it or not

Vladimir Putin believes that Russia has a

historic claim to parts of western Ukraine

so our opinion would be to view it in that light

as a sincere expression of what he thinks

and with that here it is

Mr President thank you

on February 22nd, 2022

you addressed your country in a nationwide address

when the conflict in Ukraine started

and you said that you were acting because

you had come to the conclusion that the United States

through NATO

might initiate a quote

surprise attack on our country

and to American ears

that sounds paranoid

tell us why you believe the United States might strike

Russia out of the blue

how did you conclude that

it's not that America

the United States

was going to launch a surprise strike in Russia

I didn't say that

are we having a talk show or a serious conversation

haha here's the quote

thank you it's a formidable series

no it's serious

I don't know

no pascalku was buzz aware

because your basic education is in history

as far as I understand yes

so if you don't mind

I will take only 30 seconds

or one minute to give you a short reference to history

for giving you a little historical background please

let's look where

our relationship with Ukraine started from

where did Ukraine come from

the Russian state started gathering itself

as a centralized statehood

and it is considered to be the year of

the establishment of the Russian state in 862

when the townspeople of novarode invited a varongian

Prince Rurik

from Scandinavia to reign with some sort

Tricia with some sort

in 1862 Russia celebrated

the 1,000th anniversary of its statehood

and in Novgorod

there is a memorial

dedicated to the 1,000th anniversary of the country

in 882 Ruric successor

Prince Oleg

who was actually playing the role of regent

at Ruric's young son

because Rurik had died by that time came to Kiev

he ousted two brothers who apparently had

once been members of Rurik Squad

so Russia began to develop with two centers of power

Kia Van Novgoro still shooting

the next very significant date in

the history of Russia was 988

this was the baptism of Russia when Prince Vladimir

the great grandson of Rurik

baptized Russia and adopted orthodoxy

or Eastern Christianity

from this time

the centralized Russian state begun to strengthen why

because of the single territory

integrated economic size

one and the same language

and after the baptism of Russia

the same faith and rule of the prince

the centralized Russian state began to take shape

back in the Middle Ages

Prince Yaroslav the wise

introduced the order of succession to a Tron

but after he passed away

it became complicated for various reasons

the drone was passed

not directly from father to eldest son

but from the prince who had passed away to his brother

then to his sons in different lines

all this LED to the fragmentation and the end of Bruce

as a single state

there was nothing special about it

the same was happening then in Europe

no that has drublin

but the fragmented Russian state became an easy prey

to the empire created earlier by king is Han

his successors

namely batukhan

came to Roos plunder than ruin

nearly all the cities

the southern part

including Kiev by the way

and some other cities simply lost independence

while northern cities

preserved some of their sovereignty

they had to pay tribute to the horde but they

managed to preserve some part of their sovereignty

and then a unified Russian state begun to take shape

with its center in Moscow

I don't like sure

the southern part of Russian lands including Kiev

begun to gradually gravitate towards another magnet

the center that was emerging in Europe

this was the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

it was even called the Lithuanian Russian Duchy because

Russians were a significant part of this population

they spoke the old Russian language and where Orthodox

but then there was a unification

the union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

and the Kingdom of Poland

a few years later

another union was signed

but this time already in the religious fear

some of the Orthodox

priests became subordinate to the pope thus

these lands became part of the Polish Lithuanian state

during decades

the poles were engaged in

colonization of this part of the population

they introduced a language there

try to intrange the idea

that this population was not exactly Russians

that because they lived on the fringe

they were Ukrainians

you might some

originally the word Ukrainian meant that the person

was living on the outskirts of the state

along the fringes

or was engaged in a border patrol service

it didn't mean any particular ethnic group

so the poles were trying to

in every possible way

to colonize this part of the Russian lands

and actually treated it rather harshly

not to say cruelly

all that LED to the fact that this part of

the Russian lands begun to struggle for their rights

they wrote letters to Warsaw

demanding that their rights be observed

and people be commissioned here

including to Kiev

I beg your pardon

could you tell us what period

I'm losing track of where in history we are at the

below the Polish oppression of unite

it was in the 13th century

know what did not study

now I will tell you what happened later

and give the date so that there is no confusion

and in 1654 even a bit earlier

the people who were in control of the authority

over that part of the Russian lands

address war

so I repeat

demanding that they send them to

rulers of Russian origin and Orthodox faith

when Warsaw did not answer them

and in fact

rejected their demands

they turned to Moscow

so that Moscow took them away

so that you don't think that I'm inventing things

I'll give you these documents

well I I it doesn't sound like you're inventing

and I'm not

sure why it's relevant to what happened two years ago

but still these are documents from the archives copies

here are the letters from Bogdan Hunitsky

the man who then controlled the power in this part

of the Russian lands that is now called Ukraine

he wrote to Warsaw

demanding that their rights be upheld

and after being refused

he begun to write letters to Moscow asking to take them

under the strong hand of the Moscow SAR

there are copies of these documents

I will leave them for your good memory

there's a translation into Russian

you can translate it into English later

Russia would not agree to admit them straight away

assuming that the war with Boland would start

nevertheless in 1654

upon Russian assembly of top clergy and landowners

headed by the SAR

which was the representative body of the power

of the old Russian state

decided to include a part of the

old Russian lands into Moscow Kingdom

as expected

the war with Poland began

it lasted 13 years and then in 1654

he truce was concluded

and 32 years later I think a peace treaty with Boland

which they called eternal peace was signed

and these lands

the whole left bank of Nepur

including Kiev

went to Russia

and the whole right bank of Nepur remained in Poland

under the rule of Catherina

the Great Russia reclaimed all of its historical lands

including in the south and west

there are what this all lasted until the revolution

before World War one

Austrian General Staff

relied on the ideas of ukrainianization

and started actively promoting the ideas of Ukraine

and the Ukrainianization

balustriamlia sluggage

but inside their motive was obvious

just before World War 1

they wanted to weaken the potential enemy

and secured themselves

favorable conditions in the border area

so the idea which had emerged in Poland

that people residing in that territory

were allegedly not really Russians

but brought the

belong to a special ethnic group Ukrainians

started being propagated by the Austrian General Staff

as far back as the 19th century

theorists calling for Ukrainian independence appeared

all those however

claim that Ukraine

should have a very good relationship with Russia

they insisted on that

after the 1917 revolution

the Bolsheviks sought to restore the statehood

and the civil war began

including the hostilities with Poland

in 1921 peace with Poland was proclaimed

and under that treaty

the right bank of Nipper River

once again was given back to Poland

in 1939 after Poland cooperated with Hitler

she did collaborate with Hitler you know

Hitler offered Poland peace and a treaty of friendship

and alliance

demanding in return that Poland give back to Germany

the so called dancing corridor

which connected the bulk of Germany with East Russia

and keeningsburg

after World War 1

this territory was transferred to Poland

and instead of Danzig

a city of Dansk emerged

Hitler asked them to give it amicably

but they refused

of course still

they collaborated with Hitler and engaged together

in the petitioning of Czechoslovakia

but may may I ask you

you're making the case that

that Ukraine for certainly parts of Ukraine

eastern Ukraine is in effect

Russia has been for hundreds of years

why wouldn't you just take it when you became president

24 years ago

you have nuclear weapons they don't

if it's actually your land

why did you wait so long sure

I'll tell you

I'm coming to them

this briefing is coming to an end

it might be boring

but it explains many things

just don't know how it's relevant

good good I'm so gratified that you appreciate that

thank you so

before World War 2

Poland collaborated with Hitler

and although it did not yield to Hitler's demands

it still participated in

the partitioning of Czechoslovakia together with Hitler

as the poles

had not given the downsign corridor to Germany

it went too far

pushing Hitler to start World War 2 by attacking them

why was it Boland against whom the war started

on 1st September 1939

Boland turned out to be uncompromising

and Hitler had nothing to do

but start implementing his plans with Boland

by the way the USSR

I have read some archive documents

behaved very honestly

it asked Poland's permission to transit its troops

through the Polish territory to help Czechoslovakia

but the then Polish foreign minister said that

if the Soviet plans flew over Poland

they would be downed over the territory of Poland

but that doesn't matter

what matters is that they were begun

and Poland fell prey to the policies

it has pursued against Czechoslovakia

is under the well known Molotov Ribbontrop backed

part of the territory

including western Ukraine

was to be given to Russia

thus Russia

which was then named this USSR

regained this historical lands

after the victory in the Great Patriotic War

as we call World War 2

although territories will ultimately

enshrined as belonging to Russia

to the USSR

as for Boland

it received apparently in compensation

the lands which had originally been German

these are now western lands of Poland

of course Poland regained

access to the Baltic Sea and Dunsig

which was once again given its Polish name

so this was how this situation developed

in 1922 when the USSR was being established

the Bolshevik started building the USSR

and established the Soviet Ukraine

which had never existed before right

Stalin insisted that those republics be included in

the USSR as

autonomous entities

for some inexplicable reason Landon

the founder of the Soviet state

insisted that they be

entitled to withdraw from the USSR

and again for some unknown reasons

he transferred to that

newly established Soviet republic of Ukraine

some of the lands

together with people living there

even though those lands had never been called

Ukraine and yet

they were made part of that Soviet republic of Ukraine

those lands included the Black Sea region

which was received under Catherine of the great

and which had no historical connection

with Ukraine whatsoever

even if we go as far back as 1654

when these lands returned to Russian Empire

that territory

was the size of three to four regions of modern Ukraine

with no Black Sea region

that was completely out of the question in 1654

exactly I'm just

you obviously encyclopedic knowledge of this region

but why didn't you make this case

for the first 22 years as president

that Ukraine wasn't a real country

The Soviet Union was given a great deal of territory

that had never belonged to

including the Black Sea region

at some point

when Russia received them as an outcome of the Russo

Turkish wars

they were called New Russia or novarusiya

but that does not matter

what matters is that Lenin

the founder of the Soviet state

established Ukraine that way

for decades

the Ukrainian

Soviet Republic developed as part of the USSR

and for unknown reasons again

the Bolsheviks were engaged in ukrainianization

it was not merely because

the Soviet leadership was composed

to a great extent

of those originating from Ukraine

rather it was explained by the general policy

of indegenization pursued by the Soviet Union

same things were done in other Soviet republics

this involved promoting national languages

and national cultures

which is not about

in principle

that is how the Soviet Ukraine was created

after the World War 2

Ukraine received

in addition to the lands

that had belonged to Poland before the war

part of the lands that had

previously belonged to Hungary and the Romania so

Romania and Hungary had some of their lands taken away

and given to the Soviet Ukraine

and they still remain part of Ukraine

so in this sense

we have every reason to affirm that Ukraine is an

artificial state that was shaped at Stalin's will

do you believe Hungary has a right to take its

land back from Ukraine

and that other nations have a right to go back to their

1654 borders

I'm not sure whether they should go back to the

1654 borders

but given Stalins time

so called Stalins regime

which as many claim

saw numerous violations of human rights

and violations of the rights of other states with them

some easily

one may say

that they could claim back those lands of theirs

while having no right to do that

it is at least understandable

have you told Victor Orbon

that he can have part of Ukraine

never I've never told him not a single time

we have not even had any conversation on that

but I actually know for sure that Hungarians

who live there

wanted to get back to their historical land

moreover I would like to share a

very interesting story with you

I digress it's a personal one

somewhere in the early 80s

I went on a road trip in a car from then Leningrad

across the Soviet Union

through Kiev

made the stop in Kiev

and then went to western Ukraine

I went to the town of betagavoya

and all the names of towns

and villages there were in Russian

and in the language I did not understand

in Hungarian

in Russian and in Hungarian

not in Ukrainian

in Russian and in Hungarian

I was driving through some kind of village

and there were men sitting next to the houses

and they were wearing black

three piece suits and black cylinder hats

I asked are they some kind of entertainers

I was told no

they were not entertainers

they are Hungarians

I said what are they doing here

what do you mean

this is their land

they live here

this was during the Soviet time in the 1980s

they preserve the Hungarian language

Hungarian names

and all their national costumes

they are Hungarians

and they feel themselves to be Hungarians

and of course

when now there is an infringement

well that that is

and there's a lot of that though

I think many nations are upset about Transylvania

as well as you obviously know

but many nations feel frustrated by the redrawn borders

of the wars of the 20th century

and wars going back a thousand years

the ones that you mentioned

but the fact is that

you didn't make this case in public until two years ago

February and in the case that you made

which I read today

Jessica you

you explain at great length

that you felt a physical threat from the west in NATO

including potentially a nuclear threat

and that's what got you to move

is that a fair characterization of what you said

Japanese Japanese to

I understand that my long speech is probably

fall outside of the genre of the interview

that is why I asked you at the beginning

are we going to have a serious talk or a show

you said a serious talk

so bear with me please

we're coming to the point where the Soviet

Ukraine was established

then in 1991

the Soviet Union collapsed

and everything that Russia had generally

bestowed on Ukraine was dragged away by the latter

I'm coming to a very important point of today's agenda

thank you after all

the collapse of the Soviet Union

was effectively initiated by the Russian leadership

no I do not understand

what the Russian leadership was guided by at the time

but I suspect there were several

reasons to think everything would be fine

be aware no appear to

first I think that then

Russian leadership believe that the fundamentals of

the relationship between Russia and Ukraine were

in fact a common language

more than 90% of the population there spoke Russian

family size

every third

person there had some kind of family or friendship size

common culture

common history

finally common faith

coexistence with a single state for centuries

and deeply interconnected economies

all of these were so fundamental

all these elements together

make our good relationships inevitable

the second point is a very important one

I want you as an American citizen

and your viewers to hear about this as well

the former Russian leadership

assumed that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist

and therefore

there were no longer any ideological dividing lines

Russia even agreed voluntarily and proactively

to the collapse of the Soviet Union

and believe that this would be understood by the

so called civilized west

as an invitation for cooperation and association

that is what Russia was expecting

both from the United States

and the so called collective west as a whole

there were smart people

including in Germany Egon Barr

a major politician of the Social Democratic Party

who insisted in his personal conversations

with the Soviet leadership

on the brink of the collapse of the Soviet Union

that a new security system should be

established in Europe

help should be given to unify Germany

but a new system should be also established

to include the United States

Canada Russia

and other Central European countries

yes but NATO needs not to expand

that's what he said

if NATO expands

everything would be just

the same as during the Cold War

only closer to Russia's borders

that's all he was a wise old man

but no one listened to him

in fact he got angry once

if he said you don't listen to me

I'm never setting my foot in Moscow once again

no give me minion

everything happened just as he had said it will

it of course

it did come true

and I and you've mentioned this many times

I think it's a fair point

and many in America thought that relations between

Russia and the United States would be fine

with the collapse of the sovietian

in the end of the Cold War

that the opposite happened

but you've never explained why you think that happened

except to say that the west fears a strong Russia

but we have a strong China

the west does not seem very afraid of

what about Russia do you think

convinced policymakers they had to take it down

the west is afraid of strong China

more than it fears a strong Russia

because Russia has 1

50 million people

and China has 1.5 billion population

and its economy is growing by leaps and bounds

or 5% the year

it used to be even more

but that's enough for China

as Bismarck once put it

potentials are the most important

China's potential is enormous

it is the biggest economy in the world today

in terms of purchasing

our parity and the size of the economy it has

already overtaking the United States

quite a long time ago

and it is growing at a rapid clip

let's not talk about who is afraid of whom

let's not reason in such terms

and let's get into the fact that after 1991

when Russia expected that it would be welcomed into the

brotherly family of civilized nations

nothing like this happened

the trick this

I don't mean you personally

when I say you

of course I'm talking about the United States

the promise was that NATO would not expand eastward

but it happened five times

there were five waves of expansion

we tolerated all that

we were trying to persuade them

we were saying

please don't

we are as bourgeois now as you are

we are market economy

and there's no Communist Party power

let's negotiate

moreover I have also said this publicly before

there was a moment when

a certain rift started growing between us

before that

Eltson came to the United States

remember he spoke in Congress and said the good words

god bless America

everything he said were signals let us in

remember the developments in Yugoslavia before the

Yeltsin was lavished with praise

as soon as the developments in Yugoslavia started

he raised his voice in support of Serbs

and we couldn't but raise our voices for Serbs

in their defense

I understand that

there were complex processes on the way there I do

but Russia could not help raising

his voice in support of Serbs

because Serbs are also a special and close to US nation

with Orthodox culture and so on

it's a nation that has suffered so much for generations

well regardless

what is important is that Elton expressed his support

what did the United States do

in violation of an international law and the UN Charter

it started bombing Belgrade

it was the United States that LED

the genie out of the bottom

moreover when Russia protested

then expressed his resentment

what was said

the UN Charter

and international law have become obsolete

now everyone invokes international law

but at that time

they started saying that everything was outdated

everything had to be changed

indeed some things

need to be changed

as the balance of power has changed

it's true but not in this manner

Elson was immediately dragged through the MUD

accused of alcoholism

of understanding nothing

of knowing nothing

he understood everything

I assure you well

I became president in 2000

I thought okay

the Yugoslav issue is over

but we should try to restore relations

let's reopen

the door that Russia had tried to go through

and moreover

I said it publicly

I can reiterate

at a meeting here in the Kremlin

with the outgoing president

Bill Clinton

right here in the next room

I said to him

I asked him

Bill do you think if Russia asked to join NATO

do you think it would happen

suddenly he said you know it's interesting I think so

but in the evening when we met for dinner

he said you know

I've talked to my team

no no it's not possible now

you can ask him

I think he will watch our interview

he'll confirm it

I wouldn't have said anything like that

if it hadn't happened

okay were you sincere

possible now

would you have joined NATO

look I asked the question

is it possible or not

and the answer I got was no

if I wasn't sincere in my desire to find out what

the leadership position was

but if he had said yes

would you have joined NATO

yes the boss

if he had said yes

the process of reproachment would have commenced

and eventually it might have happened

if we had seen some sincere wish on the other side of

our partners

but it didn't happen

well no means no okay

fine why do you think that is

just to get to motive

I know you're clearly bitter about it um

I understand

but why do you think the west rebuffed you then

why the hostility

why did the end of the Cold War not

fix the relationship

what motivates this from your point of view

you said I was bitter about the answer

no it's not bitterness

it's just the statement

the fact we're not bright and groom

bitterness resentment

it's not about those kind of matters

in such circumstances

we just realized we weren't welcome there

that's all okay fine

but let's build relations in another manner

let's look for common ground elsewhere

why we receive such a negative response

you should ask your leaders

I can only guess why

to big a country with its own opinion and so on

and the United States

I've seen how issues are being resolved in NATO no yes

I will give you another example now concerning Ukraine

the US leadership exerts pressure

and all NATO members obediently vote

does he even if they do not like something

now I'll tell you what happened in disregard

with Ukraine in 2,008

although it's being discussed

I'm not going to open a secret to you say anything new

nevertheless

after that we try to build relations in different ways

for example

the events in the Middle East in Iraq

we were building relations with

the United States in a very soft

prudent cautious manner

I repeatedly raised the issue that

the United States should not support separatism or

terrorism in the North Caucasus

but they continue to do it anyway

and political support

information support

financial support

even military support came from the United States

and its satellites for terrorist groups in the Caucasus

I once raised this issue with my colleague

also the president of the United States

he says it's impossible

do you have proof

I said yes I was prepared for this conversation

and I gave him that proof

he looked at it and you know what he said

I apologize

but that's what happened

I'll quote he says

well I'm gonna kick their ass

we waited and waited for some response

there was no reply

I said to death as be director

right to the CIA

what is the result of the conversation with President

he wrote once

twice and then we got a reply

we have the answer in the archive

the CIA replied

we have been working with the opposition in Russia

we believe that this is the right thing to do

and we will keep on doing it

just ridiculous

well okay we realized that they was out of the question

forces in opposition to you

so you're saying

the CIA is trying to overthrow your government okay

just emails if you do

balance of course

they meant in that particular case

the separatist

the theorists who fought with us in the Caucasus

that's who they called the opposition

this is the second portion

the third moment is a very important one

is the moment when the US

missile defense system was created

the beginning

we persuaded for a long time

not to do it in United States

moreover

after was invited by Bush Jr's father Bush SR

to visit his place on the ocean

I had a very serious

conversation with President Bush and his team

I propose that the United States Russia

and Europe jointly create the missile defense system

that we believe

if created unilaterally

threatens our security

despite the fact that the United States officially said

that it was being created against

missile threats from Iran

that was the justification

for the deployment of the missile defense system

I suggested working together Russia

the United States and Europe

they said it was very interesting

they asked me

are you serious

I said absolutely

may I ask what year was this

I don't remember

it is easy to find out on the internet

when I was in the USA

at the invitation of Bush senior

it is even easier to learn from someone

I'm going to tell you about

I was told it was very interesting

I said just imagine if we could tackle such a global

strategic security challenge together

the world will change

will probably have disputes

probably economic and even political ones

but we could drastically change

the situation in the world

he says yes and asks

are you serious

I said of course

we need to think about it

and so what with it could be

I said go ahead please

then secretary of Defense Gates

former director of CIA

and secretary of State Rice came in here

in this cabinet

right here at this table

they sat on this table

me the foreign minister

the Russian defense minister on that side

they said to me

yes we have thought about it

we agree I said

thank god great

no but with some exceptions so twice

you've described US presidents making decisions

and then being undercut by their agency heads

so it sounds like you're describing a system that's not

run by the people who were elected

in your telling

even attack

that's right

that's right

in the end they just told us to get lost

I'm not going to tell you the details

because I think it's incorrect

after all it was confidential conversation

but our proposal was declined

that's a fact

it was right

then when I said look

but then we will be forced to take countermeasures

we will create such strike systems

that will certainly overcome missile defense systems

the answer was

we're not doing this against you

and you do what you want

assuming that it is not against us

not against the United States

I said okay very well

that's the way it went

and we created hypersonic systems

with intercontinental range

and we continue to develop them

we are now ahead of everyone

the United States and the other countries

in terms of the development

of hypersonic strike systems

and we are improving them every day

but it wasn't us

we proposed to go the other way

and we were pushed back

now about NATO's expansion to the east

well we were promised no NATO to the east

not an inch to the east as we were told

and then what they said well

it's nothing shrined on paper so we'll expand

so there were five waves of expansion

the Baltic states

the whole of Eastern Europe and so on

and now I come to the main thing

they have come to the Ukraine

ultimately in 2,008 at the summit in Bucharest

they declared that the doors

for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO were open

now about how decisions are made there

Germany France seem to be against it

as well as some other European countries

but then as it turned out later

President Bush

and he such a tough guy

hate tough politician

as I was told later

he exerted pressure on us

and we had to agree

it's ridiculous

it's like kindergarten

where are the guarantees

what kindergarten is this

what kind of people are these

who are they

you see they were pressed

they agreed

and then they say Ukraine won't be in the NATO

you know I say

I don't know

I know you agreed in 2,008

why won't you agree in the future

well they pressed us then I say

why won't they press you tomorrow

and you'll agree again

well it's nonsensical

who's there to talk to

I just don't understand

we're ready to talk

but with whom

where are the guarantees none

so they started to develop the territory of Ukraine

whatever is there

I have told you the background

how this territory developed

what kind of relations they were with Russia

every second or third

person there has always had some ties with Russia

and during the elections

in already independent

sovereign Ukraine

would you gain this independence

as a result of the declaration of independence

and by the way

it says the Ukraine is a neutral state

and in 2,008

suddenly the doors or gates

tornado were open to it oh come on

this is not how we agreed now

all the presidents that have come to power in Ukraine

they relied on electorate with the good

attitude to Russia in one way or the other

this is the southeast of Ukraine

this is a large number of people

and it was very difficult to persuade this electorate

which had the positive attitude towards Russia

Victoria and Nikovich came to power

and how the first time he won opta

President Kuchma

they organized the third round

which is not

provided for in the constitution of Ukraine

this is a coup d'tat

just imagine someone in

the United States wouldn't like the outcome in 2,014

yep before that

no this was before that

after President Kuchma

Victoria Nokovich won the elections

however his opponents did not recognize that victory

the US supported the opposition

and the third round was scheduled

what is this

this is a coup

the US supported it

and the winner of the third round came to power

imagine if in the US

something was not to someone's liking

and the third round of election

which the US Constitution does not provide for

was organized

nonetheless

it was done in Ukraine

okay Victor Ushenko

who was considered the pro western politician

came to power

fine we have built relations with him as well

he came to Moscow with visits

we visited Kiev

I visited sue

we met in an informal setting

if he's pro western

so be it it's fine

let people do their job

the situation should have developed

inside the independent Ukraine itself

as a result of Kuachma's leadership

things got worse

and Viktor Yanokovich came to power after all

maybe he wasn't the best president and politician

I don't know

I don't want to give assessments however

the issue of the association with the EU came up

we have always been lenient to this

suit yourself

but when we read through the 3T of association

it turned out to be a problem for us

since we had the free trade zone

and open customs borders with Ukraine

which under this association

had to open its borders for Europe

which could have LED to flooding of our market

we said no this is not going to work

we shall close our borders with Ukraine

then the customs borders that is

you know Kovich

started to calculate how much Ukraine was going to gain

how much to lose

and said to his European partners

I need more time to think before signing

the moment he said that

the opposition began to take destructive steps

which were supported by the west

it all came down to Maidan and a coup in Ukraine

so he did more trade with Russia than with the EU

Ukraine did

of course it's not even the matter of trade volume

although for the most part it is

it is the matter of cooperation size

which the entire Ukrainian economy was based on

the cooperation size between the enterprises

where it vary close since the times of the Soviet Union

one enterprise there used to produce components

to be assembled both in Russia and Ukraine

and vice versa

they used to be very close ties

a coup the town was committed

although I shall not delve into details now

as I find doing it inappropriate

the US told us

calm unitkovage down and we will calm the opposition

let the situation unfold

in the scenario of a political settlement

we said alright agreed

let's do it this way

as the Americans requested

Yanukovij did use neither the armed forces

nor the police

yet the armed opposition committed a coup in Kiev

what is that supposed to mean

who do you think you are

I wanted to ask that

then US leadership

with the backing of whom

with the backing of CIA of course

the organization you wanted to join back in the day

as I understand

we should thank god they didn't let you in

although it is a serious organization

I understand my former visa V

in the sense that I served in the 1st Main Directorate

Soviet Union's intelligence service

they have always been our opponents

a job is a job

no you can just scan if you feel your pride

technically

they did everything right

they achieved their goal of changing the government

however from political standpoint

it was a colossal mistake

surely it was political leadership's miscalculation

they should have seen what it would evolve into

so in 2,008

the doors of NATO were open for Ukraine

in 2014 there was a coup

they started persecuting those who did not

accept the coup

and it was indeed the coup

they created the threat to Crimea

which we had to take under our Protection

they launched the war in dunbas in 2,014

with the use of aircraft and artillery

against civilians

this is when it all started

there's a video

aircraft attacking Donuts from above

they launched a large scale military operation

then another one

when they failed

they started to prepare the next storm

all this against the background of military development

of this territory and opening of Nando's doors

he

how could we not

express concern over what was happening from our side

this would have been a culpable negligence

that's what it would have been

it's just that the US political leadership

pushed us to the line we could not cross

because doing so could have ruined Russia itself

besides we could not leave our brothers in faith

in fact a part of Russian people

in the face of this war machine

what was that

so but that was eight years before

the current conflict started

so what was the trigger for you

what was the moment where

you decided you had to do this

not was houses

but what's it all complete is my change initially

it was the coup in Ukraine that provoked the conflict

by the way back then

the representatives of three European countries

Germany Poland

and France arrived

but they were the guarantors of the signed agreement

between the government of janokovich and the opposition

they signed it as guarantors

despite that

the opposition committed a coup

and all these countries pretended that

they didn't remember

that they were guarantors of the peaceful settlement

they just threw it in the stow right away

and nobody recalls that

I don't know if the US know anything about the

agreement between the opposition and the authorities

and its three guaranteers

who instead of bringing this whole situation

back in the political field supported the coup

although it was meaningless believe me

because President Yanukovich agreed to all conditions

he was ready to hold an early election

which he had no chance of winning

frankly speaking

everyone knew that

then why the coup

why the victims

why threatening Crimea

why launching an operation in Dun bus

this I do not understand

that is exactly what the miscalculation is

CIA did his job to complete the coup

I think one of the deputy secretaries of state said

that they cost a large sum of money

almost 5 billion

but the political mistake was colossal

why would they have to do that

all this could have been done legally

without victims

without military action

without losing Crimea

we would have never considered to even lift a finger

if it hadn't been

for the bloody developments on my down

because we agreed with the fact that

after the collapse of the Soviet Union

our border should be along the borders of former unions

republics we agreed to that

but we never agreed to NATO's expansion

and moreover

we never agreed that Ukraine would be in NATO

we did not agree to NATO bases there

without any discussion with us

for decades

we kept asking

don't do this

don't do that

and what triggered the latest events firstly

the current Ukrainian leadership declared that it would

not implement the Minsk agreements

which had been signed

as you know

after the events of 2,014 in Minsk or the

plan of peaceful settlement in dunbaus was set forth

but no the current Ukrainian leadership

Foreign Minister

all other officials

and then president himself said that they don't like

anything about the Minsk agreements

in other words they were not going to implement it

a year or a year and a half ago

former leaders of Germany and France said

openly to the whole world that

they indeed signed the Minsk agreements

but they never intended to implement them

they simply LED us by the news

was there anyone free to talk to

did you call a US president

secretary of state and say

if you keep militarizing Ukraine with NATO forces

this is gonna get

this is gonna be a we're gonna act

but I share this no

we talked about this all the time

we address the United States and European countries

leadership to stop these developments immediately

to implement the minced agreements

frankly speaking

I didn't know how we were going to do this

but I was ready to implement them

these agreements were complicated for Ukraine

they included lots of

elements of those Donbass territories independence

that's true

however I was absolutely confident

and I'm saying this to you now

I honestly believe that

if we managed to convince the residents of dunbus

and we had to work hard to convince them

to return to the Ukrainian statehood

then gradually the wounds would start to heal

when this part of territory

reintegrated itself into common social environment

when the pensions and social benefits were paid again

all the pieces would gradually fall into place

no nobody wanted that

everybody wanted to resolve

the issue by military force only

but we could not let that happen

and the situation got to the point

when the Ukrainian side announced no

we will not do anything

they also started preparing for military action

it was they who started the war in 2,014

our goal is to stop this war

and we did not start this war in 2022

this is an attempt to stop it

do you think you've stopped it now

I mean if you achieved your aims

no we haven't achieved our aims yet

because one of them is the natification

this means the prohibition of

all kinds of neo Nazi movements

this is one of the problems that we discussed during

the negotiation process

which ended in Istanbul early this year

no

no and it was not our initiative

because we were told by the Europeans

in particular

that it was necessary to create conditions

for the final signing of the documents

my counterparts in France and Germany said

how can you imagine them signing a treaty

with a gun to their heads

the troops should be pulled back from Kiev

I said all right we withdrew the troops from Kiev

as soon as we pulled back our troops from Kiev

our Ukrainian negotiators immediately threw

all our agreements reached in istable into the bin

and got prepared for a long standing

armed confrontation with the help of the United States

and its satellites in Europe

no that is how the situation has developed

and that is how it looks now

but what is part of my English

what is denotification

what would that mean

that what do you have

then difficult

that is what I want to talk about right now

it is a very important issue

the nutsification

after gaining independence

Ukraine began to search as some western analysts say

its identity

nah and it came up with nothing better

than to build this identity upon some false heroes

who collaborated with Hitler

I have already said that in the early 19th century

when the theorists of independence

and sovereignty of Ukraine appeared

they assumed that an independent Ukraine

should have very good relations with Russia

not a few studies schkorazi

but due to the historical development

those territories were part of the Polish

Lithuanian Commonwealth

Poland where Ukrainians were persecuted

and treated quite brutally

as well as were subject to cruel behavior

there were also attempts to destroy their identity

chest all this remained in the memory of the people

when World War 2 broke out

part of this extremely nationalist elite

collaborated with Hitler

believing that he would bring them freedom

the German troops

even the SS troops

made Hitler's collaborators do the dirtiest work

of exterminating the Polish and Jewish population

hence this brutal massacre of the Polish

and Jewish population

as well as the Russian population too

this was LED by the persons who are well known

Bandeira Shakivich

it was those people who were made national heroes

that is the problem

and we are constantly told that nationalism

and neon Nazism exist in other countries as well

yes they are seedlings

but we approve them

and other countries fight against them

but Ukraine is not the case

these people have been made into national heroes

in Ukraine monuments to those people have been erected

they are displayed them flags

their names are shouted by crowds

that walk with torches

as it was in Nazi Germany

these were people who exterminated bulls

Jews and Russians

it is necessary to stop this practice

and prevent the dissemination of this concept

I say that Ukrainians are part of the one

Russian people

they say no

we are a separate people

okay fine if they consider themselves a separate people

they have the right to do so

but not on the basis of Nazis

the Nazi ideology

would you be satisfied with

the territory that you have now

I

will finish answering the question

you just asked

the question about neo Nazism and the natification

look the president of Ukraine visited Canada

the stories well known

but being silenced in the western countries

the Canadian Parliament introduced the man who

as the speaker of the Parliament said

fought against the Russians during the World War two

well who fought against the Russians during

the World War 2

Hitler and his accomplices

it turned out that this man served in the SS troops

personally killed Russians

bulls and Jews

this US troops consisted of Ukrainian nationalists

who did this dirty work

the president the Ukraine stood up with the entire

Parliament of Canada and applauded this man

how can this be imagined

the president of Ukraine himself

by the way is a Jew by nationality

really my question is

what do you do about it

I mean Hitler's been dead for 80 years

Nazi Germany no longer exists

and so true

and so I think what you're saying is

you want to extinguish

or at least control Ukrainian nationalism but how

how do you do that

what you doing key

listen to me

your question is very subtle

and I can tell you what I think

do not take offense

of course this question appears to be subtle

it is quite pesky

you say Hitler has been dead for so many years

80 years but his example lives on

people who exterminated Jews

Russians and poles are alive

and the president

the current president of today's Ukraine

applause him in the Canadian Parliament

gives a standing ovation

can we say that

we have completely uprooted this ideology

if what we see is happening today

that is what the notification is in our understanding

we have to get rid of those people

who maintain this concept and support this practice

and try to preserve it

that is what the nussification

is that is what we mean

right my question was one more specific

it was of course

not a defense of Nazis

ne or otherwise

it was a practical question

you don't control the entire country

you don't control Kev

you don't seem like you want to so how

how do you eliminate a culture or an ideology

or feelings or view of history

in a country that you don't control

what do you do about that

I was nature

you know as strange as it may seem to you

during the negotiations of Istanbul

we did agree that we have it all in writing

neo Nazism would not be cultivated in Ukraine

including that it would be prohibited

at the legislative level

Mr Carson we agreed on that

this it turns out

can be done during the negotiation process

and there's nothing humiliating for Ukraine as a modern

civilized state

is any state allowed to promote Nazism

it is not is it that is it

will there be talks and why haven't there been talks

about resolving the conflict in Ukraine

peace talks

they have been

they reach the very high stage of coordination

of positions in a complex process

but still they were almost finalized

but after we withdrew out troops from Kiev

as I have already said

the other side threw away all these agreements

and obeyed the instructions of western countries

European countries

and the United States to fight Russia to the bitter end

moreover the President Europe

grain has legislated a ban on negotiating with Russia

he signed the decree

forbidding everyone to negotiate with Russia

but how are we going to negotiate

if he forbade himself and everyone to do this

we know that he is

putting forward some ideas about the settlement

but in order to agree on something

we need to have a dialogue

is that not right well

but you wouldn't be speaking to the Ukrainian president

you'd be speaking to the American president

when was the last time you spoke to Joe Biden

I cannot remember when I talked to him

I do not remember

we can look it up

you don't remember

no why do I have to remember everything

I have my own things to do

we have domestic political affairs

well he's funding the war that you're fighting

so I would think that would be memorable

well yes he funds

but I talked to him before

the special military operation of course

and I said to him then by the way

I will not go into details I never do

but I said to him then

I believe that

you are making a huge mistake of historic proportions

by supporting everything that is happening there

in Ukraine by pushing Russia away

I told him told him repeatedly by the way

I think that would be correct

if I stop here

what did he say

ask him please

it is easier for you

you are citizen of the United States

go and ask him

it is not appropriate

for me to comment on our conversation but

but you haven't spoken to him since

before February of 2022

no no we haven't spoken

certain contacts are being maintained though

speaking of which

do you remember what I told you about

my proposal to work together on a missile

defense system yes

you can ask all of them

all of them are safe and sound thank God

the former President Condelese is safe and sound

and I think Mr Gates

and the current director of the intelligence agency

Mr Burns the then ambassador to Russia

in my opinion

are very successful Ambassador

they were all witnesses to these conversations

ask them same here

if you are interested in what Mr

President Biden responded to me ask him

at any rate

I talked to him about it

I'm I'm I'm definitely interested

but from the outside

it seems like this could

devolve or evolve into something

that brings the entire world into conflict and could

um initiate some nuclear launch

and so why don't you just call Biden and say

let's work this out

what's there to work out it's very simple I repeat

we have contacts through various agencies

I will tell you what we are saying on this matter

and what we are conveying to the US leadership

if you really want to stop fighting

you need to stop supplying weapons

it will be over within a few weeks that's it

and then we can agree on some terms

before you do that stop

what's easier

why would I call him

what should I talk to him about or beg him for what

and what messages do you get back

you're going to deliver such and such weapons

to Ukraine oh

I'm afraid I'm afraid

please don't

what is there to talk about

do you think

NATO is worried about this becoming a global war

or a nuclear conflict

at least that's what they're talking about

and they're trying to intimidate their own population

with an imaginary Russian threat

this is an obvious fact

and thinking people

not philistines

but thinking people

analysts those who are engaged in real politics

just smart people

understand perfectly well that this is a fake

they're trying to fuel the Russian threat

the threat I think

you're referring to is a Russian invasion of Poland

Latvia expansionist behavior is

can you imagine a scenario

where you sent Russian troops to Poland

only in one case if Poland attacks Russia why

because we have no interest in Poland

Latvia or anywhere else

why would we do that

we simply don't have any interest

it's just treadmongering

well the argument

I know you know this

is that well

he invaded Ukraine

he has territorial aims across the continent

and you're saying unequivocally you don't

absolutena

it absolutely out of the question

you just don't have to be any kind of analyst

it goes against common sense

to get involved in some kind of a global war

and a global war will bring all humanity

to the brink of destruction

it's obvious

they are certainly means of the turrets

they have been scaring everyone with us all along

Tomorrow Russia will use tactical nuclear weapons

tomorrow Russia will use that

no the day opted tomorrow

so what we beat

in order to extort additional money from US taxpayers

and European taxpayers in the confrontation with Russia

in the Ukrainian theater war

the goal is to weaken Russia as much as possible what

one of our senior United States senators

from the state of New York

Chuck Schumer

said yesterday I believe

that we have to continue to fund the Ukrainian effort

or US soldier citizens could wind up fighting there

how do you assess that

this is a provocation and a cheap provocation at that

I do not understand why

American soldiers should fight in Ukraine

they are mercenaries from the United States there

the bigger number of mercenaries comes from Poland

with mercenaries from the United States in second place

and mercenaries from Georgia in third place

well if somebody has the desire to send regular troops

that would certainly bring humanity to the brink of

very serious global conflict

this is obvious

do the United States need this what for

thousands of miles away from your national territory

don't you have anything better to do

you have issues on the border

issues with migration

issues with the national death more than $33 trillion

you have nothing better to do

so you should fight in Ukraine

wouldn't it be better to negotiate with Russia

make an agreement already

understanding the situation that is developing today

realizing that Russia will fight

for its interest to the end

and realizing this actually return to common sense

start respecting our country and its interests

and look for certain solutions

it seems to me that this is much smarter

and more rational

who blew up Nordstream

you for sure

I was busy that day

Nate it do you have do you have

I did not blow up North Stream

thank you though

you personally may have an alibi

but the CIA has no such alibi

did you have evidence that NATO or CIA did it

you know I won't get into details

but people always say in such cases

look for someone who is interested

but in this case

we should not only look for someone who is interested

but also for someone who has capabilities

because there may be many people interested

but not all of them

are capable of sinking to the bottom of the Baltic Sea

and carrying out this explosion

these two components should be connected

who is interested and who is capable of doing it

but I'm confused I mean

that's the biggest act of industrial terrorism ever

and it's the largest emission of c 0

2 in history

okay so if you had evidence in

presumably given your security services

rental services you would

that NATO the US CIA

the west did this

why wouldn't you present it

and win a propaganda victory

in the war of propaganda

it is very difficult to defeat the United States

because the United States controls

all the world's media and many European media

the ultimate beneficiary of the biggest European media

are American financial institutions

don't you know that

so it is possible to get involved in this work

but it is cost prohibitive

so to speak

we can simply

shine the spotlight on our sources of information

and we will not achieve results

it is clear to the whole world what happened

and even American analysts talk about it directly

it's true yes I

but but here's a question you may be able to answer

you worked in Germany

famously um

the Germans clearly know

that their NATO partner did this

but they and it damaged their economy greatly

it may never recover

why are they being silent about it

that's very confusing to me

why wouldn't the Germans say something about it

this also confuses me

but today's German leadership is guided by

the interests of the collective west

rather than its national interest otherwise

it is difficult to explain the logic of their action

or inaction

after all it is not only about Northstream 1

which was blown up and the Northstream 2 was damaged

but one pipe is safe and sound

and gas can be supplied to Europe through it

but Germany

does not open it

we're ready please

there's another route through Poland

called Yamal Europe

which also allows for large flow

Boland has closed it

but Poland pecks from the German hand

it receives money from the pan European funds

and Germany

is the main donor to these pan European funds

Germany feeds Poland to the certain extent

and they close their route to Germany

why I don't understand Ukraine

to which the Germans supply weapons and give money

Germany is the second sponsor of the United States

in terms of financial aid to Ukraine

there are two gas routes through Ukraine

they simply closed one route to Ukrainians

open the second route

then please get gas from Russia

they do not open it

why don't the Germans say

look guys we give you money and weapons

open up the valve

please let the gas from Russia pass

true for us

we're buying liquified gas

at exorbitant prices in Europe

which brings the level of our competitiveness

and economy in general down to zero

do you want us to give you money

let us have the decent existence

make money for our economy

because this is where the money we give you comes from

they refuse to do so

why ask them

that is what is like in their heads

those are highly incompetent people

well maybe the world is breaking into two hemispheres

one with cheap energy

the other without

and I wanna ask you that if

if we're now

a multipolar world

obviously we are

can you describe the blocks of alliances

who is in each side

do you think

listen you have said that

the world is breaking into two hemispheres

a human brain is divided into two hemispheres

one is responsible for one type of activities

the other one is more about creativity and so on

but it is still one in the same head

the world should be a single hole

security should be shared

rather than a meant for the golden billion

that is the only scenario

where the world could be stable

sustainable

and predictable

until then while the head is split into Barts

it is an illness

a serious adverse condition

it is a period of severe disease

that the world is going through now

but I think that thanks to honest journalism

this work is akin to work of the doctors

this could somehow be remedied

well let's just give one example

the US dollar

which has kind of united the world in a lot of ways

maybe not to your advantage but certainly ours

is that going away as the reserve currency

that become the universe accepted currency

how have sanctions

do you think changed the dollars place in the world

you know to

use the dollar as a tool of foreign policy struggle

is one of the biggest strategic mistakes made by

the US political leadership

the dollar is the quarter stone of

the United States power

I think everyone understands

very well that no matter how many dollars are printed

they are quickly dispersed all over the world

inflation in the United States is minimal

it's about 3 or 3.4%

which is I think totally acceptable for the US

but they won't stop printing

what does the debt of $33 trillion tell us about

it is about the emission

nevertheless

it is the main weapon used by the United States

to preserve its power across the world

as soon as the political leadership decided to use

the US dollar as a tool of political struggle

a blow was dealt to this American power

I would not like to use any strong language

but it is a stupid thing to do and a grave mistake

look at what is going on in the world

even the United States

allies are now downsizing their dollar reserves

seeing this

everyone starts looking for ways to protect themselves

but the fact that the United States

applies restrictive measures to certain countries

such as placing restrictions on transactions

freezing assets etc

causes great concern

and sends a signal to the whole world

what did we have here

until 2022 about 80% of Russian foreign

trade transactions were made in US dollars and euros

US dollars accounted for approximately 50% of

our transactions with third countries

while currently it is down to 13%

it wasn't us who banned the use of the US dollar

we had no such intention

it was decision of the United States to restrict

our transactions in US dollars

I think it is complete foolishness

from the point of view

of the interest of the United States itself

and its taxpayers

as it damages the US economy

undermines the power of

the United States across the world by the way

our transactions in yuan accounted for about 3%

Today 34% of our transactions are made in rubles

and about as much

a little over 34% in yuan

why did the United States do this

my only guess is self conceived

they probably thought that

that would lead to full collapse

but nothing collapsed

moreover other countries

including oil producers are thinking of

and already accepting payments for oil in yuan

do you even realize what is going on or not

does anyone in the United States realize this

what are you doing you're cutting yourself off

all experts say this

ask any intelligent and thinking person in

the United States what the dollar means for the US

but you're killing it with your own hands

I think that's a fair

I think that's a fair assessment

the question is what comes next

and maybe you trade one colonial power for another

much less sentimental and forgiving colonial power

I mean is the

the bricks for example

in danger of being completely dominated by the Chinese

the Chinese economy

in a way that's not good for their sovereignty

do you worry about that

we have heard those boogeyman stories before

it is a boogeyman story

we're neighbors with China

you cannot choose neighbors

just as you cannot choose close relatives

we share a border of thousand kilometers with them

this is number one

second we have a centuries long history of coexistence

we're used to it third

China's foreign policy philosophy is not aggressive

its idea is to always look for compromise

and we can see that

the next point is as follows

we are always stole the same boogeyman story

and here it goes again

through an euphemistic form

but it is still the same boogeyman story

the cooperation with China keeps increasing

the base of which China's cooperation with

Europe is growing is higher and greater than

that of the growth of Chinese Russian cooperation

ask Europeans

aren't they afraid

they might be

I don't know

but they are still trying to access China's market

at all costs

especially now that they are facing economic problems

Chinese businesses are also

exploring the European market

do Chinese businesses have small presence in

the United States

yes the political decisions are such that they are

trying to limit their cooperation with China

it is to your own detriment

Mr Tucker that you are limiting cooperation with China

you're hurting yourself

it is a delicate matter

and there are no silver bullet solutions

just as it is with the dollar

so before introducing any illegitimate sanctions

illegitimate

in terms of the charter of the United Nations

one should think very carefully for decision makers

this appears to be a problem

so you said a moment ago

that the world would be a lot better

if it weren't broken into competing alliances

if there was cooperation globally

one of the reasons you don't have that is because the

current American administration is dead set against you

do you think

if there were a new administration after Joe Biden

that you would be able to reestablish communication

with the US government

or does it not matter who the president is

I will tell you

but let me finish the previous thought

we together with my colleague and friend

President Jink Ping

set that goal

to reach $200 billion of mutual trade with China

this year we have exceeded this level

according to our figures

our bilateral trade with China

totals already 230 billion

and the Chinese statistics says

it is 240 billion dollars

one more important thing

out trade is well balanced

mutually complementary in high tech energy

scientific research and development

it is very balanced

as for bricks

where Russia took over the presidency this year

the bricks countries are by and large

developing very rapidly

look if memory serves me right

back in 1992

the share of the G7 countries in the world economy

amounted to 47%

whereas in 2022

it was down to

I think a little over 30%

the bricks countries accounted for only 16% in 1992

but now their share is greater than that of the G7

it has nothing to do with the events in Ukraine

this is due to the trends of global development

and world economy as I mentioned just now

and this is inevitable

this will keep happening

it is like the rise of the sun

you cannot prevent the sun from rising

you have to adapt to it

how do the United States adapt with the help of force

sanctions pressure

bombings and use of armed forces

this is about self conceit

your political establishment does not understand that

the world is changing under objective circumstances

and in order to preserve your level

even if someone aspires

pardon me to the level of dominance

you have to make the right decisions

in the competence and timely manner

such brutal actions

including with regard to Russia and say other countries

are counterproductive

this is an obvious fact

it has already become evident

you just asked me

if another leader comes and changes something

it is not about the leader

it is not about the personality of a particular person

I had the very good relationship with the say Bush

I know that in the United States

he was portrayed as some kind of a country boy

who does not understand much

I assure you that this is not the case

I think he made a lot of mistakes with regard to Russia

too I told you about 2,008

and the decision

and bucharests to open the NATOs doors to

for Ukraine and so on

that happened during his presidency

he actually exercised pressure on the Europeans

but in general

on a personal human level

I had a very good relationship with him

he was no worse than any other American

or Russian or European politician

I assure you

he understood what he was doing as well as others

I had such personal relationship with Trump as well

it is not about the personality of the leader

it is about the elites mindset

if the idea of domination at any cost

based also on forceful actions

dominates the American society

nothing will change

it will only get worse

but if in the end

one comes to the awareness that

the world has been changing

due to the objective circumstances

and that one should be able to adapt to them in time

using the advantages that the US still has today

then perhaps something may change

look China's economy has become the first

economy in the world in purchasing power parity

in terms of volume

it overtook the US a long time ago

the USA comes second then India

one and a half billion people

and then Japan

with Russia in the fifth place

Russia was the first economy in Europe last year

despite all the sanctions and restrictions

is it normal from your point of view

sanctions restrictions

impossibility of payments and dollars

being cut off from swift services

sanctions against our ships carrying oil

sanctions against airplanes

sanctions in everything everywhere

the largest number of sanctions in the world

which are applied are applied against Russia

and we have become Europe's first economy

during this time

the tools that US uses don't work well

one has to think about what to do

if this realization comes to the ruling elites then yes

then the first person of the state will act

in anticipation of what the voters

and the people who make decisions at various levels

expect from this person

then maybe something will change

but you're describing two different systems

you say that the leader

acts in the interest of the voters

but you also say

these decisions are not made by the leader

they're made by the ruling classes

you've run this country for so long

you've known all these American presidents

what are those power centers in the United States

do you think

like who actually makes the decisions

I don't know

America is a complex country

conservative on one hand rapidly changing on the other

it's not easy for us to sort it all out

who makes decisions in the elections

is it possible to understand this

when each state has its own legislation

each state regulates itself

someone can be excluded from elections

at the state level

it is a two stage electoral system

it is very difficult for us to understand it

certainly there are two parties that are dominant

the Republicans and the Democrats

and within this party system

the centers that make decisions

that prepare decisions

then look why

in my opinion

after the collapse of the Soviet Union

such an erroneous crude

completely unjustified policy of

pressure was pursued against Russia

after all this is a policy of pressure

NATO expansion

support for the separatist and Caucasus

creation of a missile defense system

these are all elements of pressure

pressure pressure pressure

then dragging Ukraine into NATO is all about pressure

pressure pressure why

I think among other things

because excessive production capacities were created

during the confrontation with the Soviet Union

there were many centers created

and specialists on the Soviet Union

who could not do anything else

they convinced the political leadership

that it is necessary to continue chiseling Russia

to try to break it up

to create on this territory

several quasi state entities

and to subdue them in undivided form

to use their combined potential

for the future struggle with China

this is a mistake

including the excessive potential of those

who worked for the confrontation with the Soviet Union

it is necessary to get rid of this

there should be new

fresh forces

people who look into the future

and understand what is happening in the world

look at how Indonesia is developing

600 million people

where can we get away from that nowhere

we just have to assume that Indonesia will enter

it is already in

the club of the world's leading economies

no matter who likes it or dislikes it

yes we understand and are aware that

in the United States

despite old economic problems

the situation is still normal

with the economy growing decently

the GDP is growing by 2.5% if I'm not mistaken

but if we want to ensure the future

then we need to change our approach to what is changing

as I already said

the world would nevertheless change

regardless of how the developments in Ukraine end

the world is changing

in the United States themselves

experts are writing that the United States are

nonetheless

gradually changing their position in the world

it is your experts who write that

I just read them

the only question is how this would happen

painfully and quickly or gently and gradually

and this is written by people who are not anti American

they simply follow global development trends that's it

and in order to assess them and change policies

we need people who think

look forward

can analyze and recommend certain decisions

at the level of political leaders

I just have to ask

you've said clearly that NATO expansion eastward

is a violation of the promise you all were made in 1990

it's a threat to your country

right before you send troops into Ukraine

the vice president of the United States went to

the munic security conference

and encourage the president of Ukraine to join NATO

do you think that was an effort to provoke

you into military action

I repeat once again

we have repeatedly

repeatedly proposed to seek a solution

to the problems that arose in Ukraine after 2014

could the ta true peaceful means

but no one listened to us

and moreover

the Ukrainian leaders

who were under the complete US control

suddenly declared that they would not comply with the

Minsk agreements

they disliked everything there

and continued military activity in that territory

and in parallel

that territory

was being exploited by NATO military structures

under the guise of various personnel

training and retraining centers

they essentially begun to create bases there that's all

Ukraine announced that the Russians were

a non titular nationality

while passing the laws that limit

the rights of non titular nationalities in Ukraine

Ukraine having received all these south

eastern territories as a gift from the Russian people

suddenly announced that the Russians were a non

titular nationality in that territory

is that normal

all this put together LED to the decision to

end the war that neo Nazi started in Ukraine in 2014

do you do you think Zelensky has

the freedom to negotiate a settlement to this conflict

I don't know the details of course

it's difficult for me to judge

but I believe he has

in any case

he used to have

his father fought against the fascists

Nazis during World War two

I once talked to him about this

I said Melodia

what are you doing

why are you supporting neo Nazis in Ukraine today

while your father fought against fascism

he was a front line soldier

I will not tell you what he answered

this is a separate topic

and I think it's incorrect for me to do so

but thus to the freedom of choice why not he

came to power on the expectations of Ukrainian people

that he would lead Ukraine to peace

he talked about this

it was thanks to this that he won the elections

overwhelmingly

but then when he came to power

in my opinion

he realized two things

firstly it is better not to clash with neo Nazis

and nationalists

because they are aggressive and very active

you can expect anything from them

and secondly

the US LED west supports them

and will always support those

who antagonize with Russia

it is beneficial and safe

so he took the relevant position

despite promising his people to end the war in Ukraine

he deceived his voters

but do you think at this point

as if February 2024

he has the latitude

the freedom to speak with you or your government

directly about putting them to this

which clearly isn't helping his country or the world

can he do that

do you think

why not he considers himself head of state

he won the elections

although we believe in Russia

that the coup d'tat is the primary source of power

for everything that happened after 2014

and in this sense

even today government is flawed

but he considers himself the president

then he is recognized by the United States

all of Europe and practically

the rest of the world in such a capacity

why not can

we negotiated with Ukraine in Istanbul

we agreed he was aware of this

moreover the negotiation group leader

Mr Arahamiya

is his last name

I believe still has the faction of the ruling party

the party of the president in the Radha

he still has the presidential faction in the Radha

the country's parliament

he still sits there

he even put his preliminary signature on the document

I am telling you about

but then he publicly stated to the whole world

we were ready to sign this document

but Mr Johnson

then the prime minister of rich Britain

came and dissuaded us from doing this

saying it was better to fight Russia

they would give everything needed for us to return

what was lost during the clashes with Russia

and we agreed with this proposal

look his statement has been published

he said it publicly

more than you

can they return to this or not

the question is

do they want it or not

sugar Spayenne

but is it young

further on president

the Ukraine issued a decree

prohibiting negotiations with us

let him cancel that decree

and that's it

we have never refused negotiations indeed

we here all the time

is Russia ready

yes we have not refused

it was then who public refused well

let him cancel his decree and enter into negotiations

we have never refused

and the fact that they

obeyed the demand or persuasion of Mr Johnson

the former Prime minister of Great Britain

seems ridiculous and very sad to me

because as Mr Arakamiya put it

we could have stopped those facilities with war

a year and a half ago already

but the British persuaded us and we refuse this

where is Mr Johnson now and the war continues

that's a good question

where do you think he is and why did he do that

I

don't

understand it myself

there was a general starting point

for some reason

everyone had the illusion that Russia could be defeated

on the battlefield

because of arrogance

because of a pure heart but not because of a great mind

you've described

the connection between Russia and Ukraine

you've described Russia itself

a couple of times as Orthodox

that's central to your understanding of Russia

you said you're Orthodox

what does that mean in for you

you're a Christian leader

by your own description

so what effect does that have on you

um you know

as I already mentioned in 988

Prince Vladimir himself was baptized

following the example of his grandmother

Princess Olga

then he baptized his squad

and then gradually over the course of several years

he baptized all the Ruths

it was a lengthy process from pagans to Christians

it took many years

but in the end

this Orthodoxy

Eastern Christianity

deeply rooted itself in

the consciousness of the Russian people

when Russia expanded

and absorbed other nations who profess Islam

Buddhism and Judaism

Russia has always been very loyal to those people

who profess other religions

this is her strength

this is absolutely clear

and the fact is that the main postulates

main values are very similar

not to say the same

in all world religions I've just mentioned

and which are the traditional religions of

the Russian Federation Russia

by the way Russian authorities

were always very careful about the culture

and the religion of those

people who came into the Russian Empire

at the at the fuel

this in my opinion

forms the basis of both security

and stability of the Russian statehood

all the peoples inhabiting Russia

basically consider it their motherhood

you say people move over to you or to Europe

from Latin America

and even clearer and more understandable example

people come

but yet they have come to you or to European countries

from the historical homeland

and people who profess different religions in Russia

consider Russia their motherland

they have no other motherland

we are together

this is one big family

and our traditional values are very similar

I've just mentioned one big family

but everyone has his her own family

and this is the basis of our society

and if we say that the motherland and the family

are specifically connected with each other

it is indeed the case

since it is impossible to ensure

a normal future for our children and our families

unless we ensure a normal

sustainable future for the entire country

for the motherland

that is why

patriotic sentiment is so strong in Russian now

the one way in which the religions are different

is that Christianity is specifically

a nonviolent religion

Jesus says turn the other cheek don't kill

how can a leader who has to kill of any country

how can a leader be a Christian

how do you reconcile that to yourself

it is very easy when it comes to protecting oneself

and once family once homeland

we won't attack anyone

when did the developments Ukraine start

what sure since the coup d'tat

and the hostilities in Dunbars begun

that's when they started

and we're protecting our people

ourselves our homeland and our future

as for religion in general

you know it's not about external manifestations

it's not about going to church every day or

banging your head on the floor

it is in the heart

and our culture is so human oriented

Dostayevsky who was very well known in the west

and the genius of Russian culture

Russian literature spoke a lot about this

about the Russian soul

after all western society is more pragmatic

Russian people think more about the eternal

about moral values

I don't know

maybe you won't agree with me

but western culture is more pragmatic after

all

I'm not saying this is bad

it makes it possible for today's golden billion

to achieve good success in production

even in science and so on

there's nothing wrong with that

I'm just saying that we kind of look the same

so do you see the supernatural at work as you

look out across what's happening in the world now

do you see God at work

do you ever think to yourself

these are forces that are not human

no to be honest I don't think so

my opinion is that the development of the world

community is in accordance with inherent laws

and those laws are what they are

it's always been this way in the history of mankind

some nations and countries rose

became stronger and more numerous

and then left the international stage

losing the status they had the custom to

there's probably no need for me to give examples

but we could start with the Genghis Han

and horde conquerors

the Golden Horde

and then end with the Roman Empire

it seems that there has never been anything like

the Roman Empire in the history of mankind

nevertheless

the potential of the barbarians gradually grew

as did their population in general

the barbarians were getting stronger

and begun to develop economically

as we would say today

this eventually LED to the collapse of the Roman Empire

and the regime imposed by the Romans

however it took five centuries for the Roman

Empire to fall apart

the difference with what is happening now

is that all the processes of change are happening

at the much faster pace than in Roman times

so when does the AI empire start do you think

yeah

you're asking increasingly more complicated questions

to answer them you need to be an expert in big numbers

big data and AI

mankind is currently facing many threats

due to the genetic researches

it is now possible to create this superhuman

a specialized human being

a genetically engineered athlete

scientist military man

there are reports that Elon Musk has already

had the chip implanted in the human brain in the USA

what do you think of that no Musk

well I think there's no stopping Elon Musk

he will do as he sees fit

nevertheless

you need to find some common ground with him

search for ways to persuade him

I think he's a smart person

I truly believe he is

so you need to reach an agreement with him

because this process needs to be formalized

and subjected to certain rules

humanity has to consider what is going to happen

due to the newest development in genetics or in AI

one can make an

approximate prediction of what will happen

once mankind felt an existential threat

coming from nuclear weapons

all nuclear nations begun to come to terms with

one another

since they realized

the negligent use of nuclear weaponry

could drive humanity to extinction

it is impossible to stop researching genetics or AI

today just as it was impossible to stop

the use of gunpowder back in the day

but as soon as we realize that the threat

comes from unbridled and uncontrolled development of AI

or genetics or any other field

the time will come to reach an international agreement

on how to regulate these things

I I appreciate all the time you've given us

I just got to ask you one

last question

and that's about

someone who's very famous in the United States

probably not here

Evan Gerskowitz

who's the Wall Street Journal reporter

he's 32 um and he's been in prison for almost a year

uh this is a huge story in the United States

and I just wanna ask you directly

without getting into the tales of it

or your version of what happened

if as a sign of your decency

you would be willing to release him to us

and we'll bring him back to the United States

we have done so many gestures of what

goodwill out of decency

that I think we have ran out of them

no we have never seen

anyone that reciprocate to us in a similar manner

however in theory

we can say that we do not rule out that we can do that

if our partners take reciprocal steps

when I talk about the partners

I first of all refer to special services

special services are in contact with one another

they are talking about the matter in question

there is no taboo to settle this issue

we are willing to solve

it but there are certain terms being discussed

via special services channels

I believe an agreement can be reached

so typical I mean

this stuff has happened for obviously centuries

one country catches another spy within its orders

it trades it for

one of its own Intel guys in another country

I think what makes it

and it's not my business

but what makes this difference is

the guy's obviously not a spy he's a kid

and maybe he was breaking your law in some way

but he's not a super spy and everybody knows that

and he's being held hostage in exchange

which is true

with respect

it's true and everyone knows it's true

so maybe he's in a different category

maybe it's not fair to ask for

you know somebody else in exchange for letting him out

maybe it degrades Russia to do that

was nature you know

you can give a different interpretations to what

constitutes a spy

but there are certain things provided by law

if person gets secret information

and does that in conspiratorial manner

then this is a qualified as espionage

and that is exactly what he was doing

he was receiving classified

confidential information

and he did it covertly

maybe he did that out of carelessness

or his own initiative

considering

the sheer fact that this is qualified as espionage

the fact has been proven

as he was caught

red handed when he was receiving this information

if it had been some far fetched excuse

some fabrication

something not proven

it would have been different story then

but he was caught red handed when he was

secretly getting confidential information

what is it then

but are you suggesting he was working for

the US government or NATO

or he was just a reporter who was given

material he wasn't supposed to have

those seem like very different

very different things

Yan is known

Yan is known to go on Rabuto

no particular issue

I don't know who he was working for

but I would like to reiterate that

getting classified information in secret

is called espionage

and he was working for the US Special Services

some other agencies

I don't think he was working for Monaco as

Monaco is hardly interested in getting that information

it is up to special services to come to an agreement

some groundwork has been laid

there are people who

in our review are not connected with special services

let me tell you a story about a person

serving a sentence in an allied country of the US

that person

due to patriotic sentiments

eliminated the bandit in one of the European capitals

during the events in the Caucasus

do you know what he was doing

I don't want to say that

but I will do it anyway

he was laying our soldiers taken prisoner on the road

and then drove his car over their heads

what kind of person is that can he even be called human

but there was a patriot who

eliminated him in one of the European capitals

whether he did it of his own volition or not

that is a different question if we're with them that

I mean that's a completely different

I mean it's 1,000 two year old like most people don't

he committed something different

he's not just a journalist

I reiterate

he's a journalist

who was secretly giving confidential information

yes it is different

but still I'm talking about other people

who are essentially controlled by the US authorities

wherever they are serving a sentence

there is an ongoing dialogue between

the special services

this has to be resolved in a calm

responsible and professional manner

they're keeping in touch

so let them do their work

I do not rule out that the person you refer to

Mr Gershkowitz

may return to his motherland

by the end of the day

it does not make any sense to keep

him in prison in Russia

we want the US special services to think about

how they can contribute to achieving the goals

our special services are pursuing

we are ready to talk

moreover the dogs are on their way

and there have been many successful examples of these

stocks crowned with success

probably this

is going to be crowned with success as well

but we have to come to an agreement

I hope you let him out Mr President thank you

I also want him to return to his homeland at last

I'm absolutely sincere

but let me say once again

the dialogue continues

the more public we render things of this nature

the more difficult it becomes to resolve them

everything has to be done in calm manner

I wonder if that's

I wonder if that's the reason with the war

though also

I mean I just wanna

I guess I wanna

ask one more question which is

and maybe you don't want to say so

for strategic reasons

but are you worried that

what's happening in Ukraine could

lead to something much larger and much more horrible

and how motivated are you

just to call the US government and say

let's come to terms

I already said that we did not refuse to talk

we're willing to negotiate

it is the western side

and Ukraine is obviously a satellite state of the US

it is evident

I do not want you to take it as if I'm looking

for a strong word or an insult

but we both understand what is happening

the financial support

$72 billion was provided

Germany rinks second

then other European countries come

dozens of billions of US dollars are going to Ukraine

there's a huge influx of weapons

in this case

you should tell the current Ukrainian leadership to

stop and come to negotiating table

rescind this absurd decree

we did not refuse

sure but you already said it

I didn't think you meant it as an insult

because you already said correctly

it's been reported that Ukraine was prevented from

negotiating a peace settlement

by the former British prime minister

acting on behalf of the Biden administration

so for sure

satellite big countries control small countries

that's not new

and that's why I asked about

dealing directly with the Biden administration

which is making these decisions

not President Zelensky of Ukraine