The phone rang in the Kremlin

Angela Merkel calculated with German thoroughness: during her 16 years as German Chancellor, she came to Russia 16 times.

At the same time, for Vladimir Putin, she was one of the most important European partners and opponents at the same time.

And when the speaker of the German government announced that Merkel intended to fly to Moscow on Friday, no one had any special doubts - she was going to say goodbye.

Indeed, what kind of negotiations about the future can be conducted with a politician who will be replaced in his post by someone else in a month?

But there is a lot to discuss with him, including the successor.

And this was one of the unreported topics of the current talks between Putin and Merkel.

True, these negotiations began with embarrassment.

As soon as the Russian President and German Chancellor were seated in the chairs of the Kremlin's Green Living Room and Putin began his opening speech, Merkel's phone rang.

Who called - remained a mystery, and Putin reacted instantly.

“We are constantly in telephone contact, we have many questions that require discussion in a personal format,” he continued his speech with a half-smile, and he did it so smoothly that it was completely incomprehensible - whether everything coincided so successfully, or whether he edited the text on the fly.

The limit on revolutions has been exhausted


Instead of the planned two hours, the conversation lasted three hours.

And when the leaders went to the press, it turned out that even on her last visit, Merkel did not become a more convenient interlocutor.

In the golden glow of the Alexander Hall, she, without batting an eye, declared that she considered Crimea an annexed, Navalny a political prisoner, and the situation in Belarus blatant.

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The German chancellor Putin, accustomed to such zigzags, gave an answer on all points.

“The defendant was convicted not for his political activities, but for a criminal offense against foreign partners,” Putin recalled.

"The fight against corruption is a very important thing, but it should not be used as a tool of political struggle ... The fight against corruption should be people who themselves impeccably follow the law."

And as a conclusion from what was said, what was going on sounded.

“We will do everything to ensure that the situation in Russia is stable and predictable,” the president said.

- Russia exhausted its limit on revolutions back in the 20th century.

We do not want revolutions any more, we want the evolutionary development of our society and state.

I hope it will be so. "

When asked by an RT correspondent about the situation in Afghanistan and what conclusions can be drawn from the 20-year operation of the United States and its allies, Putin replied that “there is no need to stamp on it,” you need to look to the future.

The Taliban * movement controls almost the entire territory of the country, including the capital.

These are realities, and it is from these realities that one must proceed ... Now it is important to prevent the penetration of terrorists into the territory of the states adjacent to Afghanistan, including under the guise of refugees, ”the head of state said, adding that the process of establishing public order by the Taliban should be closely monitored the international community.

Why are you interfering with RT?

An RT correspondent asked the German Chancellor why the German authorities are preventing RT from obtaining a license in German by putting pressure on the Luxembourg authorities?

The Chancellor listened to the question carefully, but did not want to admit anything.

"Madam Chancellor, help us with freedom of speech."


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RT

correspondent

Dmitry Smirnov asked Angela Merkel about the harassment of RT by the German authorities in German: https://t.co/4MquuA6fJLpic.twitter.com/Dws3wEgkwi

- RT in Russian (@RT_russian) August 20, 2021

"Germany did not exert any pressure ... In Germany, neither the federal government nor the state governments deal with such issues," Merkel replied.

  • © RT


Nord Stream 2 


A day after her visit to Moscow, Merkel will come to Kiev to meet with Vladimir Zelensky.

And Ukraine, with its gas transit, was the subject of most of the talks in the Kremlin.

Taking this opportunity, Putin even publicly asked Merkel to influence the Ukrainian side in terms of fulfilling all previously assumed obligations.

“One gets the impression that the leadership of this country has decided, in principle, to refuse to resolve the situation peacefully,” the Russian president said.

According to him, the adoption by Kiev of the law on a transitional period in Donbass will mean the actual withdrawal of Ukraine unilaterally from the Minsk process.

Moscow has neither refused nor refuses to transit gas through Ukraine, but the details can be discussed when specifics appear in the dialogue with European buyers.

“We are ready to transit gas through the territory of Ukraine after 2024,” Putin assured.

- But we must understand for how long, in what volume.

And for this we must receive an answer, including from our European partners, how much they are ready to buy from us.

This is an obvious thing.

We cannot write a transit contract if we do not have supply contracts to our consumers in Europe. "

  • © nord-stream2.com

But there is nothing to say about Nord Stream 2.

It builds faster than updated information arrives.

“44 kilometers are left to build,” Putin announced and decided to play it safe by asking Miller, who was sitting in the hall.

- Or how much, Alexey?

15?

15 kilometers left by sea.

Everything!"

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.