Pravda.Ru editor-in-chief Inna Novikova discussed recent events an in interview with the Dean of the Supreme School of Television of the Moscow State University, Vitaly Tretyakov.
"Let's start our conversation with the results of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. The West has extended its sanctions against Russia saying that the Russian aggression was growing. At the same time, there were many foreign guests at the forum, large contracts were signed, including with German company Siemens.
"Indeed, Siemens made a very good offer to Russian Railways. The Turkish Stream project started developing, an agreement was formed with Greece about the construction of a gas pipeline. The forum was very productive. Putin was very optimistic during his speech at the forum, but I would not say the same about the ministers. It appears that they say a lot about the need to invest, transform, modernize and so on, but they do not know how to do it."
"What do you think about a statement from Alexei Kudrin (former finance minister), who said that one should hold an early presidential election in Russia?"
"Kudrin says that the country needs a new program of reforms. Why didn't he run them when he was a member of the government? Kudrin's entire program was about one thing: "Do not spend money." He wanted to save it, to prevent embezzlement. However, a country can not live and develop as a piggy bank. Kudrin is of course very dissatisfied with his dismissal from the position of the finance minister, although it was him who initiated it. Has he ever developed a program to modernize economy? He says all these things because he does not want to be forgotten."
"It was said that Grigory Yavlinsky also wanted to take part in the presidential election."
"Yavlinsky, with all his positive qualities and intelligence, has completely dropped out of the field of public interest. I think that many young people do not know who he is. Today, if you are not a public politician, if you do not appear on TV, you "disappear" from mass consciousness. To crown it all, he has participated in the presidential elections three times, and he has lost all of them - three times."
"Another hot topic of recent days is the arrest of Russian property in Belgium and France within the scope of the lawsuit from former Yukos shareholders."
"Yes, a small country of Belgium became a pioneer at this point. This is a well-known trick. At first, they let a small hooligan out to fight, while the leader is standing aside watching.
"During the 1990s, Russia joined a multitude of international organizations that were created without Russia's participation. Those organizations were established to disregard Russia's national interests. There was a feeling even during the 1990s that there was something wrong there. Russia, a giant state that used to remain independent even during most difficult times of its life, one of the two ruling powers on the planet in the 20th century, turned out to be under someone else's jurisdiction. Courts of Paris, the Hague, Brussels and London used to make rulings about Russia. Can you imagine?
"However, no one has ever heard that a Moscow court could arrest billions of a foreign company in Russia. In fact, we brought ourselves under the jurisdiction of foreign countries. Our Constitution declares the priority of international law over Russian law, which is nonsensical. It is about time Russia should directly say in the Constitution that the rule of law of Russia can not be challenged by any legal or natural person. This is the first.
"Secondly, international treaties and agreements signed by the Russian Federation must be ratified by the Russian Parliament before they can be legally implemented in Russia. I do not exclude that the claims on those $1.5 billion to Russia could be fair under some Anglo-Saxon law, but I am not interested in the Anglo-Saxon law. The fact that Russian property was arrested i na foreign country means a disaster for both the Russian authorities and the Kremlin."
Interview conducted by Inna Novikova
Pravda.Ru
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