The situation in Ukraine after the election of Vladimir Zelensky as head of state has not changed. About this in an interview with American director Oliver Stone, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“After all, the vote that passed was clearly a protest vote. Quite a lot of people of the newly elected president were supported in the central regions of Ukraine, in the east, in the south. And these are all people who truly sincerely seek and desire, in any case, a settlement, ”he said.
Putin recalled that during the election campaign Zelensky put priority in resolving the conflict in the east of Ukraine, but during his visit to Paris, he stated that he was not ready to conduct a direct dialogue with representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics.
The President of Russia also stressed that he favors the development of ties between Moscow and Kiev.
“We, bearing in mind that we have a lot in common, can use this as a competitive advantage in certain integration processes, this is an obvious fact. But today's authorities obviously do not want this. But I think that common sense will prevail in the end, ”Putin added.
“Nobody needs industrial goods of Ukraine in the western markets. And agricultural production is also a limited number of goods that they buy. Round wood is needed, but soon there will be no forest in Ukraine at all. This is not Siberian open spaces, ”the Russian leader stressed.
At the same time, problems in relations between Moscow and Kiev are caused both by a coup in Ukraine in 2014, and by the anti-Russian propaganda of the Ukrainian authorities, Putin explained.
“This is provoked by these severe events connected with the coup d'etat. And the second part of this story is the propaganda of the current authorities in today's Ukraine, which make Russia guilty for all the tragic events that followed, ”the head of state added.
Interference with elections
Speaking about Ukraine, Oliver Stone touched upon the topic of Kiev’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election. The director recalled that an investigation was under way about an attempt by the Ukrainian authorities to contribute to the election of the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton.
According to Vladimir Putin, “there is no secret,” but he is not inclined to call it intervention.
“I do not think that this can be interpreted as interference from the Ukrainian state. But it is absolutely perfect that the Ukrainian oligarchs transferred money to Trump's opponents. They did it on their own or with the knowledge of the authorities - I do not know, ”he said.
The Russian president explained that the Ukrainian supporters of the election of Clinton had publicly expressed their support and “allowed themselves to be impartial expressions in relation to” her opponent, Donald Trump, who eventually won.
Also, Vladimir Putin once again noted that Russia could not affect the results of elections in the United States. According to him, trump's victory was predetermined by the fact that the middle class in the USA has not felt a change for the better over the past few years.
“And it was this circumstance that was understood by those who led Mr. Trump’s election campaign, and he himself understood, and he worked on this platform. And whatever our bloggers, I do not know who works there on the Internet, no matter how expressed their views on the situation in the United States, this could not play a key decisive role, this is bullshit, ”he said.
At the same time, Putin acknowledged that in Moscow they sympathized with Trump, since he spoke of the desire to restore normal relations with Russia.
About the case of Skripale
During the interview, Stone also asked a few questions about the ex-official of the GRU of Russia, Sergey Skripale, who, together with his daughter Yulia, was poisoned near his home in British Salisbury in March 2018.
Vladimir Putin said that he does not have information about where Sergei Skripal may be.
"I have no idea. He's a spy, he's hiding all the time, ”said the president.
Stone voiced the version according to which the British special services could poison Skripale, but Putin reacted with skepticism to it.
“I do not believe ... If you would like to poison it, you would poison it,” explained the President of Russia. - This is, in principle, in modern conditions it is easy to do. Of course. There, I do not know, milligram is enough. But if he was in their hands, it does not pose any difficulty at all. No, there is something wrong here. Maybe just a scandal was needed. "
- Reuters
- © Hannah McKay
"There are no restrictions"
Stone has also touched on the issue of contemporary phenomena in American culture. He noted that he was “shocked at how the younger generation thinks,” which pays too much attention to gender, including defining itself as “transgender” or “cisgender”.
“Too well live. There is nothing to do, ”commented Vladimir Putin.
Responding to a question from Stone, the president recalled that in Russia there is a law banning the promotion of homosexuality among minors to allow the younger generation to make decisions about how to live, already in maturity.
“This is aimed at enabling a person to reach maturity and then decide for himself who he is, how he wants to live. And after that there are no restrictions, ”Putin said.
Recall a similar question to the president asked the journalists of the British Financial Times before the G20 Osaka summit.
“I’ve done something, I don’t know, there are already five or six floors. I can't even reproduce them, I don't know what it is. Although let it be all good, we have nothing against anyone. But we should not forget the culture, traditions, and traditional foundations of the families that millions of indigenous people live in, ”Putin emphasized.