The SPIEF plenary session was not complete without talking about nuclear weapons and the conflict with kyiv. Photo: Alexander Demyanchuk/TASS
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is our main platform for attracting foreign investments. It stands to reason that most of what is talked about here is about economics. But where would we be today without talking about Ukraine, our country’s main conflict in all of modern history? Therefore, Vladimir Putin had to answer questions about the confrontation with kyiv.
The moderator of the plenary session, political scientist Sergei Karaganov, mentioned the inability of the current Ukrainian authorities to negotiate.
– Okay, yes. Well, as Joseph Vissarionovich said: “I have no other writers.” He said this in relation to the Writers’ Union of the USSR at a time when Beria again exposed them. Well, these are the partners. What should we do now? Fight with everyone, or what? Of course, we must strive to achieve agreements and conditions that correspond to our interests and are as reliable as possible. You are right that it is very difficult to negotiate with an audience like that; They deceive you at every step. They say one thing and do another. It’s sad. But all armed conflicts end in some type of peace agreement. It is true that, as one of the former leaders of a fairly important European country told me, all these agreements can be based on military defeat or victory. Of course, we will strive and we will achieve victory,” said Vladimir Vladimirovich.
But if the choice is made between the speed of advance and the magnitude of the losses, the decision is made in favor of saving lives.
– Understanding my responsibility, I nevertheless proceed from what the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense propose. Speed is important, but even more important is taking care of the lives and health of our boys who are fighting on the front lines. Therefore, combat work is underway, but since the beginning of this year 47 settlements have been liberated, 880, in my opinion, square kilometers. Little by little we are expelling the enemy from the territory of Donbass and other adjacent territories. The General Staff and the Ministry of Defense have plans for the implementation and achievement of all our objectives and we act in accordance with these plans. I am sure that all these plans will be implemented.
Later, the President again assured our willingness to negotiate. But the basis must necessarily be based on the agreements that Moscow and kyiv reached in Istanbul.
At the same time, we are not talking about a second wave of mobilization.
– We adhere to a different tactic: we expel the enemy from those territories that should remain under our control. And in this sense we have no need to mobilize. Because last year, the mobilization we had, we summoned 300 thousand people, but last year, without any mobilization, our men, our patriotic people, voluntarily came to the military registration and enlistment offices and signed contracts with the armed forces. There were more than 300 thousand people. More than 300 thousand. This year, since the beginning of the year, more than 160 thousand people have gone to military registration and enlistment offices and signed contracts, the Russian leader listed.
– When we see what the Russian character is, what the character of a Russian citizen is, we understand it and trust it. We do not need atomic weapons for final victory,” he added.
It is no coincidence that the president remembered nuclear weapons. As sometimes happens, he was asked about the possibility of using atomic missiles.
– The request is only possible in exceptional cases. I do not believe such a case has occurred. And there is no such need. But this doctrine is a living instrument and we follow what happens in the world and we do not exclude modifications to the doctrine,” said the head of the country.
