On June 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with heads of international news agencies as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Journalists from the USA, Germany, Spain, France, China, Japan and several other countries took part in the meeting. Putin's statements at the meeting made numerous headlines in world media. This is the first time, when Putin spoke to foreign journalists since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine.
Below are some of the main theses from Putin's statements that he made during his conversation with foreign journalists.
"We have shown ourselves and the whole world that not only we talk about the need to protect our interests, but we are doing it and will continue doing it. Everyone will have to take this into account," Putin said.
"The first thing we did was to fulfill our duty to the people who suffered from the coup and the subsequent hostilities in the territories of south-eastern Ukraine."
Putin asked the journalists not to create the image of an enemy from Russia. Russia "has no imperial ambition” and those who made contrary statements are trying to deceive the population of Western countries and justify the need to transfer weapons to Ukraine, the Russian President also said.
Al Jazeera noted in its report after the meeting that Putin hinted at a possibility for tensions to grow even higher should Western countries supply Ukraine with weapons for attacks on Russian territory. The use of certain types of weapons, including advanced missile technologies, would be tantamount to participation in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, agency said.
"Our losses are several times less than on the Ukrainian side."
“Everyone believes that it is Russia that started the war in Ukraine, but no one in the West, in Europe, wants to remember how this tragedy began. It began with an unconstitutional coup. That's when the war broke out."
"By and large, we don’t care who we work with in the United States and who wins the presidential election there. Russia has never interfered and does not interfere in US domestic politics."
"Biden is predictable, he is an old-school politician. The prosecution of Trump in the United States is an element of political struggle."
"Germany’s supplies of tanks and missiles to Kyiv finally destroys Moscow’s relations with Berlin. No one in the current German leadership defends the interests of the people of Germany."
"Western countries planned to undermine the Russian economy within 6 months, but now everyone can see that this is not happening."