President Putin on missile defence and relations with the USA
In my interview on Russia Today I said that Mr Romney considers Russia the USA’s main foe, but if he is elected president we, I included, will work with him as the elected US leader.
Every situation has its pluses and minuses. It is a minus that Mr Romney sees us as his country’s main foe, but the fact that he states this so frankly and openly suggests that he is a direct and candid person, and this is a plus. We will look at the pluses rather than the minuses.
In fact, I want to thank Mr Romney for stating his views so clearly and freely. In doing so, he confirmed once again that we are right in our stance on the missile defence issue. I think he has convinced not only us, but also the international community and our European partners. He has strengthened our negotiating position on this sensitive and very important issue, bolstered Russia’s position in these talks.
His election is not something we can influence, and we have no intention of trying. I already said that election campaign rhetoric plays a big part in all of this. But even casting aside the rhetoric, Mr Romney’s words do reflect a real view that exists. The important thing, as we see it, is that even if Mr Romney does not win this election, in four years’ time, he or someone with similar views could come to power in the United States, and we are to keep this in mind as we work on ensuring our country’s long-term security.
Question (addressed to US Secretary of State John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov): After your recent discussions, including on Syria and the episode of detention of a US Embassy official in Moscow on a charge of espionage, do you think that your collective work is constructive? Sergey Lavrov (answers after John Kerry): Regarding the incident of the detention of a US Embassy official in Moscow that you have mentioned, everything, that the Russian party wished to say about it, was said yesterday in the comment of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. I have nothing to add.
Dear Mr Chairman,Dear colleagues, friends, First of all, I would like to thank our Swedish hosts for their hospitality, good organization of the today’s meeting and to congratulate Mr Carl Bildt with the results that were reached by the Arctic Council under Swedish chairmanship.
Today we sign the second in history legally binding panarctic document – Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic. This is another evidence of high responsibility of Arctic countries for the state of affairs in the region. The next is the preparation of the Agreement on Marine Oil Spill Prevention.
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