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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,

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We have finished Kyrgyzstani-Russian talks in the framework 

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of an official visit by the President of Russia.

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This is a landmark event, because this visit is being held ahead 

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of the 25th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.

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We will mark it on March 20.

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Today we discussed nearly all issues of bilateral cooperation 

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in the narrow and expanded formats.

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I will not speak in detail about these issues,

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but I would like to say that we have come to an agreement 

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on nearly all issues.

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We discussed economic and security issues,

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military and technical cooperation and, of course,

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integration within the Eurasian Economic Union.

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We also exchanged opinions on other issues,

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including international ones.

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I would like to say that our countries have similar 

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or identical views on international issues.

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We also discussed the implementation of our agreements,

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because we expect the Prime Minister of Russia to visit us 

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in early March. We have outlined measures that will facilitate 

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the further work of all the EAEU prime ministers and heads 

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of government.

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It should be said that I and all other members of the Kyrgyzstani 

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delegation are satisfied with the results of these talks,

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and we are grateful for this to the Russian delegation 

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and Mr Putin personally.

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We have signed a Joint Declaration following the talks,

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and I hope that a number of other important agreements will be signed 

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in the future during my visit to Russia.

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Mr Putin, in conclusion I would like to again express our gratitude 

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to you for this visit and for your support to our country,

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and to give the floor to you.

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Thank you very much.

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Mr Atambayev, ladies and gentlemen, friends,

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Our talks with the President of Kyrgyzstan were held, as usual,

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in a business-like and constructive atmosphere.

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We talked in detail about all aspects of our cooperation and outlined 

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practical plans for strengthening our interaction in the future.

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I would like to stress that Kyrgyzstan is a strategic partner 

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for Russia. We are united by friendship and truly allied relations that 

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have passed the test of time.

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As Mr President has said, in March we will mark 25 years 

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of our diplomatic relations.

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Our countries are working to deepen their multifaceted and mutually 

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beneficial cooperation.

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We are resolved to join hands to overcome current difficulties,

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including a decrease in trade, and to work out a practical set 

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of measures to achieve this goal.

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We have agreed to make fuller use of the advantages of Kyrgyzstan’s 

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membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.

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By the way, Kyrgyzstan holds the rotating EAEU presidency this year,

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and Bishkek will soon host a meeting of the Supreme 

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Eurasian Economic Council.

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The lifting of customs, sanitary and phytosanitary barriers will 

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promote, and is already promoting the development of close integration 

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ties in trade, industry and agriculture.

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I would like to say in this connection that Kyrgyzstan reported very 

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good results last year, including thanks to the effective 

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use of these advantages.

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Despite economic difficulties, Kyrgyzstan’s GDP has grown by over 3 

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percent and industrial production by over 4 percent.

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Russia is actively helping Kyrgyzstan adjust to the EAEU requirements.

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We have earmarked $200 million for its projects,

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including modernisation of its customs infrastructure 

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and the improvement of border checkpoints.

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The work of the Russian-Kyrgyzstani Development Fund has been launched,

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and Mr Atambayev and I exchanged opinions on its operation.

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The Fund is a unique instrument that was established in 2014 with 

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the starting capital of $500 million.

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At present, the Fund is co-financing projects worth over 

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$200 million in Kyrgyzstan.

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Russia’s assistance to Kyrgyzstan is designed to help it 

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stabilise its budget.

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The aggregate volume of these grants has reached $225 million.

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We are gradually writing off Kyrgyzstan’s national debt,

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which is reducing the financial burden on the country’s financial 

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system, improving the balance and releasing funds for the country’s 

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development programmes, including social ones.

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Assistance is also provided to our Kyrgyzstani partners in the form 

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of duty-free delivery of Russian petrochemicals.

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In 2016, we delivered over one million tonnes 

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of petrochemicals to Kyrgyzstan under these schemes.

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Russia’s Gazprom is implementing a large project to expand Kyrgyzstan’s 

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gas supply network and connect more users to it by 2030.

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Total investment in the country’s gas transmission network will amount 

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to 100 billion rubles and will increase the connection of users 

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to the gas supply system from 22 percent to 60 percent.

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Money transfers by Kyrgyz nationals working in Russia constitute 

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a major contribution to the country’s economic development.

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The volume of such transfers has grown 18.

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5 percent since Kyrgyzstan joined the EAEU.

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In January through September 2016,

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these transfers amounted to $1.

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3 billion, or nearly 30 percent of the country’s GDP.

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And these were only wire transfers and postal orders.

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In fact, the volume is much bigger.

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Kyrgyz nationals have equal employment rights with 

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the citizens of other EAEU countries in Russia.

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Humanitarian contacts, cultural,

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scientific and educational exchanges are of particular 

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importance for our cooperation.

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In 2016, Kyrgyzstan successfully hosted the Russian Culture Days 

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and the Russian Film Week.

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Kyrgyzstan’s representatives have expressed readiness to reciprocate 

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with the Kyrgyz Culture Days in Russia this year.

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Russian universities are training more than 16,

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000 Kyrgyzstani students, including 5,

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000 whose tuition is sponsored by the Russian Government.

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This year, we admitted more than 420 Kyrgyzstani students at no charge.

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Kyrgyzstan, in turn, pays a lot of attention to the study 

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of the Russian language, for which we have to thank the President 

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of Kyrgyzstan, and all our Kyrgyzstani partners and friends.

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The number of schools with tuition in Russian is growing;

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200 of them offer tuition in Russian only, and 414,

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in the Russian and Kyrgyz languages.

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In September 2016, a new school opened in Bishkek,

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named after Anton Chekhov, with the support of the Russian Peace 

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Foundation and of course, our Kyrgyzstani friends,

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first of all, the President of Kyrgyzstan.

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During the talks, the participants noted the closeness of our 

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countries’ positions on many important issues 

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of the regional and global agenda.

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At the same time, we have paid special attention to our joint efforts 

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to combat modern challenges and threats in Central Asia,

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the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking,

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and transnational organised crime.

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In this context, we agreed to actively strengthen bilateral military 

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and military-technical cooperation.

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We reaffirmed a common understanding that the Russian military base 

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in Kyrgyzstan is an important factor in ensuring stability 

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and security in Central Asia.

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In conclusion, I would like to once again express gratitude 

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to the Kyrgyzstani leadership and President Almazbek Atambayev 

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for their warm welcome and thorough discussion we had today.

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I am confident that this visit will undoubtedly further the progressive 

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development of Russian-Kyrgyzstani relations for the benefit 

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of the peoples of Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

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Thank you.

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This is a question for both presidents on security cooperation.

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Was the idea of expanding Russia’s military presence 

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at Kant Air Base raised during the talks?

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Finally, did Russia get assurances that the transfer of power this fall 

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in Kyrgyzstan will go smoothly? Thank you.

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We did not discuss the expansion of Kant Air Base.

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What we did mention during the talks was strengthening Kyrgyzstan’s 

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army and armed forces, stepping up supplies of weapons,

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equipment. This is a whole different story.

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Russia wants to help us strengthen our own armed forces.

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As for the transfer of power, Mr Putin did not even raise this issue.

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I can say that should anyone think about staging a revolution 

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in Kyrgyzstan, just remember that it was Atambayev who was the leader 

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of the past two revolutions.

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In 2005, I headed the procession that occupied the White House.

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In 2010, you may recall where people assembled to voice their protest.

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It was near my office.

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So, if a third revolution takes place,

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I will not be the one to stage it.

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Let me put it this way, there will be no more revolutions 

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in Kyrgyzstan. We cannot afford to have a situation described 

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in a song: ‘Revolutions have a beginning with no end in sight.

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’ Mr Putin used to tease me with this song.

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We have to get down to work.

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From now on, Kyrgyzstan should be a rank-and-file developing country.

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The latest developments prove that we are on the right track.

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Those who want power do not need to stage revolutions or jump the fence 

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at the White House. Go ahead and run in elections,

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be it parliamentary or presidential.

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That is why Mr Putin and I did not discuss these issues.

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We focused on the economy and development of bilateral relations.

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Regarding the Russian military presence in Kyrgyzstan,

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I would like to remind you or explain how the Russian base 

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was established at Kant.

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It was established at the request of the Kyrgyzstani authorities 

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in 1999–2000, when Kyrgyzstan had to fend off the attacks of terrorists 

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who entered the country from Afghanistan.

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At that time, the then Kyrgyzstani authorities asked me personally 

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to deploy a Russian military group, primarily aircraft,

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in order to effectively fight against the terrorist threat.

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As you remember, there were also tragedies, people were killed,

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and neighbouring countries sent in their aircraft.

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But the Kyrgyzstani authorities concluded that if a permanent group 

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of forces were deployed in their country who would know the situation,

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hold military exercises and use the army and aviation if and when 

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necessary, these should be highly professional forces that would act 

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in strict coordination with the Kyrgyzstani partners.

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This is why our base was established here.

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When Kyrgyzstan decides that it has strengthened its armed forces so 

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that it no longer needs this base,

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we will pull out immediately.

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There is no need for us to have a military group here.

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It is here solely to protect the security of Kyrgyzstan.

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Now that we are developing our relations within the CSTO framework,

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we will continue to strengthen the armed forces 

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of Kyrgyzstan, as Mr President has said.

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We talked about this today, and it was not the first time we did.

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We will work calmly and consistently on this at the CSTO expert group.

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We did not discuss expanding the Russian military group here.

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If Kyrgyzstan decides that this is necessary,

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we will discuss this issue, but you should know that this will entail 

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additional spending for us.

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We will discuss this within the CSTO and at the bilateral 

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level, if necessary.

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As for internal political processes,

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they are not our business and we never interfere in internal processes 

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of other countries, let alone our allies.

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But I fully agree with what President Atambayev has said.

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We believe that we must treasure stability in the post-Soviet space 

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and proceed from the assumption that any change of government must take 

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place in the framework of the Constitution and the law.

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Mr Putin, the EAEU is one of the key issues on your visit’s agenda.

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Can you name the positive elements of this integration association? Did 

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you discuss the possibility of further developing it or obstacles 

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to this, in particular, in light of the recent moves taken 

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by the Belarusian leadership?

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I will answer your question in parts,

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just as you have formulated it.

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I believe that the integration processes in the post-Soviet space are 

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absolutely natural and will greatly benefit all parties.

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We discussed this and agreed on this many times.

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We have inherited from the previous generations very many valuable 

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things that we did not value enough in the previous decades.

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Take European integration.

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They need 28 interpreters to be able to talk with each other.

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We have the Russian language, which is the international language 

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for us. This is not just a technical issue.

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It also has a major economic element,

228
00:17:41.896 --> 00:17:45.028
even though this may sound strange.

229
00:17:45.028 --> 00:17:48.249
We also have common infrastructure –

230
00:17:48.249 --> 00:17:54.424
transport infrastructure, roads, railways and energy infrastructure –

231
00:17:54.424 --> 00:18:00.330
and a very high level of cooperation we inherited from the Soviet 

232
00:18:00.330 --> 00:18:04.625
period. It would be silly not to value all this,

233
00:18:04.625 --> 00:18:10.979
not to raise it to a qualitatively new level and not to make use of it 

234
00:18:10.979 --> 00:18:14.558
in light of current global developments.

235
00:18:14.558 --> 00:18:19.927
I am referring to the active regional integration processes 

236
00:18:19.927 --> 00:18:22.970
that are ongoing around the world.

237
00:18:22.970 --> 00:18:26.191
What results have we achieved? Look,

238
00:18:26.191 --> 00:18:32.187
we have actually opened up our market to our partners’ commodities.

239
00:18:32.187 --> 00:18:35.140
We are interested in these goods.

240
00:18:35.140 --> 00:18:38.540
We have just returned from Tajikistan,

241
00:18:38.540 --> 00:18:43.731
and I believe that this pool of journalists was there too.

242
00:18:43.731 --> 00:18:47.489
We are interested in Tajikistan’s exports,

243
00:18:47.489 --> 00:18:50.353
primarily fruits and vegetables.

244
00:18:50.353 --> 00:18:55.006
We are likewise interested in Kyrgyzstan’s products.

245
00:18:55.006 --> 00:19:01.091
They are cheaper and even better than the products we imported from 

246
00:19:01.091 --> 00:19:06.013
many other countries whose products we have restricted.

247
00:19:06.013 --> 00:19:11.382
These [post-Soviet] countries’ economies have grown visibly.

248
00:19:11.382 --> 00:19:15.230
Russia’s economic growth has been moderate,

249
00:19:15.230 --> 00:19:18.630
while Kyrgyzstan’s GDP has grown by 3.

250
00:19:18.630 --> 00:19:23.194
8 percent and industrial production by 4.1 percent.

251
00:19:23.194 --> 00:19:26.147
You have some obvious advantages,

252
00:19:26.147 --> 00:19:29.995
and these advantages are beneficial for us.

253
00:19:29.995 --> 00:19:36.349
Therefore, I believe that integration is an absolutely logical process 

254
00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:41.181
and it would be silly of us not to use its advantages.

255
00:19:41.181 --> 00:19:45.566
As for the disputes, they are also quite natural.

256
00:19:45.566 --> 00:19:48.877
Each party defends its own interests.

257
00:19:48.877 --> 00:19:54.783
I just cited some figures that show Russia’s support for the soft 

258
00:19:54.783 --> 00:19:59.526
adaptation of the Kyrgyz economy to the requirements 

259
00:19:59.526 --> 00:20:02.300
of the Eurasian Economic Union.

260
00:20:02.300 --> 00:20:07.400
But we have disputes with our Belarusian friends as well,

261
00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:10.354
and we are looking for solutions.

262
00:20:10.354 --> 00:20:15.186
I must say that in Belarus, we are providing far more 

263
00:20:15.186 --> 00:20:17.870
assistance than in Kyrgyzstan.

264
00:20:17.870 --> 00:20:24.134
I just said we have helped Kyrgyzstan with its border infrastructure: 

265
00:20:24.134 --> 00:20:28.967
we provided 225 million, 200 million as grant support,

266
00:20:28.967 --> 00:20:32.188
500 million to the development fund,

267
00:20:32.188 --> 00:20:37.378
including more than 200 million already invested, overall,

268
00:20:37.378 --> 00:20:42.479
almost $1 billion, whereas loans issued to Belarus alone 

269
00:20:42.479 --> 00:20:44.090
exceed $6 billion.

270
00:20:44.090 --> 00:20:48.117
Our market is fully open to Belarusian goods;

271
00:20:48.117 --> 00:20:52.681
oil is supplied duty free to Belarusian refineries;

272
00:20:52.681 --> 00:20:58.408
refined oil products are further supplied from Belarus to other 

273
00:20:58.408 --> 00:21:03.061
countries and the taxes go to the Belarusian budget.

274
00:21:03.061 --> 00:21:06.104
If you look at the IMF statistics,

275
00:21:06.104 --> 00:21:11.920
you will see the impressive figures of hidden and direct support 

276
00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:14.336
for the Belarusian economy.

277
00:21:14.336 --> 00:21:20.600
But we do not regret it, because it is being done for long-term goals,

278
00:21:20.600 --> 00:21:25.970
and the Russian economy benefits and will benefit from this 

279
00:21:25.970 --> 00:21:32.144
collaboration, because it strengthens our synergies and enhances our 

280
00:21:32.144 --> 00:21:34.113
joint competitiveness.

281
00:21:34.113 --> 00:21:37.334
Therefore, this money is not wasted,

282
00:21:37.334 --> 00:21:42.882
but is invested in meaningful actions aimed at future results.

283
00:21:42.882 --> 00:21:45.567
There will always be disputes.

284
00:21:45.567 --> 00:21:50.489
I am sure that we will find a way out of any situation,

285
00:21:50.489 --> 00:21:55.053
even those that seem too difficult at first glance.

286
00:21:55.053 --> 00:21:58.453
My first question is for Mr Atambayev.

287
00:21:58.453 --> 00:22:04.091
Some forces are trying to present the criminal case against Mr 

288
00:22:04.091 --> 00:22:07.760
Tekebayev as being politically motivated.

289
00:22:07.760 --> 00:22:14.024
How do you respond to these allegations? Is Tekebayev actually facing 

290
00:22:14.024 --> 00:22:18.946
political reprisals? Could you comment on this, please?

291
00:22:18.946 --> 00:22:24.046
You know, I think I commented on this issue back in 2010,

292
00:22:24.046 --> 00:22:27.357
when people were dying on the Maidan 

293
00:22:27.357 --> 00:22:33.621
(here in Bishkek). When people were dying in the south of the country 

294
00:22:33.621 --> 00:22:38.901
in ethnic clashes, someone was embezzling millions up here.

295
00:22:38.901 --> 00:22:41.228
I talked about it in 2010.

296
00:22:41.228 --> 00:22:46.418
Afterwards, I said on a number of occasions that all this 

297
00:22:46.418 --> 00:22:49.192
will resurface sooner or later.

298
00:22:49.192 --> 00:22:54.114
Yesterday I saw an interview with this Russian citizen 

299
00:22:54.114 --> 00:22:58.856
on a Russian website. He was brave enough to testify.

300
00:22:58.856 --> 00:23:05.210
He was asked: “Why haven’t you come forward earlier?” What he answered 

301
00:23:05.210 --> 00:23:10.400
was: “I was afraid and did not believe that the President 

302
00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:12.637
would take up this case.”

303
00:23:12.637 --> 00:23:17.291
It’s no secret that everyone thought that Atambayev,

304
00:23:17.291 --> 00:23:21.139
just like many others, was getting his cut.

305
00:23:21.139 --> 00:23:27.313
We all know that after the 2010 revolution in Kyrgyzstan, in Bishkek,

306
00:23:27.313 --> 00:23:30.445
there was pillage and racketeering,

307
00:23:30.445 --> 00:23:34.651
a lot of filth. This is a hard pill to swallow.

308
00:23:34.651 --> 00:23:37.694
Some people died, ordinary people,

309
00:23:37.694 --> 00:23:43.510
and those who came to power on their blood started to make money.

310
00:23:43.510 --> 00:23:48.432
The fact that not only Tekebayev, but also many others,

311
00:23:48.432 --> 00:23:54.875
how should I call them, activists who headed the interim government are 

312
00:23:54.875 --> 00:24:01.318
shouting on every corner about it shows that they are afraid that their 

313
00:24:01.318 --> 00:24:04.361
shady dealings will come to light.

314
00:24:04.361 --> 00:24:08.656
Let me reiterate that a thief should be in jail,

315
00:24:08.656 --> 00:24:11.072
no matter who he or she is.

316
00:24:11.072 --> 00:24:17.515
If someone served on the interim government in 2010 or was a government 

317
00:24:17.515 --> 00:24:21.452
official, this does not buy you forgiveness.

318
00:24:21.452 --> 00:24:24.942
This is the problem for any revolution.

319
00:24:24.942 --> 00:24:29.417
Ordinary people die, and someone benefits from it,

320
00:24:29.417 --> 00:24:31.296
makes a lot of money.

321
00:24:31.296 --> 00:24:36.486
For this reason this case has nothing to do with politics.

322
00:24:36.486 --> 00:24:42.213
The fact that many are now afraid that their dealings will come 

323
00:24:42.213 --> 00:24:44.898
to light is a political issue.

324
00:24:44.898 --> 00:24:49.193
They will claim that they are facing repression,

325
00:24:49.193 --> 00:24:55.368
and so on. What repression are you talking about? This is just fraud 

326
00:24:55.368 --> 00:25:01.721
and corruption. If there were only two Russians making such statements,

327
00:25:01.721 --> 00:25:04.674
it would make things much easier.

328
00:25:04.674 --> 00:25:08.075
First, there will be many more people,

329
00:25:08.075 --> 00:25:11.296
since there were a lot of witnesses.

330
00:25:11.296 --> 00:25:16.218
Second, for the last three years Omurbek Abdurakhmanov,

331
00:25:16.218 --> 00:25:21.319
a former parliament member from the same Ata-Meken Party,

332
00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:26.151
has been talking about it. All this will become known.

333
00:25:26.151 --> 00:25:32.326
I do not know whether the next President will have the moral courage 

334
00:25:32.326 --> 00:25:38.142
to see it through to the end, but I will definitely do all I can.

335
00:25:38.142 --> 00:25:43.064
When I am no longer President, I will stay in politics.

336
00:25:43.064 --> 00:25:49.418
Trust me, yesterday, when I met with parents of the young men who died,

337
00:25:49.418 --> 00:25:55.592
their children were there too, and all they asked for was that those 

338
00:25:55.592 --> 00:26:01.946
who enriched themselves instead of working honestly pay the full price.

339
00:26:01.946 --> 00:26:05.615
I think that these demands are justified.

340
00:26:05.615 --> 00:26:11.879
This will teach everyone a lesson not to do such things in the future.

341
00:26:11.879 --> 00:26:17.606
Let me reiterate that we must teach a lesson to these marauders,

342
00:26:17.606 --> 00:26:23.601
those who covered up their actions, the raiders, corrupt officials,

343
00:26:23.601 --> 00:26:26.912
so that no one follows their example.

344
00:26:26.912 --> 00:26:31.745
Many people benefited from the hardships people faced.

345
00:26:31.745 --> 00:26:37.919
In 2005 and in 2010 history repeated itself in that there was always 

346
00:26:37.919 --> 00:26:40.604
someone who made money off it.

347
00:26:40.604 --> 00:26:46.778
Trust me, if many more people start offering such testimony tomorrow,

348
00:26:46.778 --> 00:26:50.447
arguing that Atambayev was also involved,

349
00:26:50.447 --> 00:26:53.848
it will not come as a surprise for me.

350
00:26:53.848 --> 00:27:00.201
But Atambayev has never been a thief. He worked hard to earn his money.

351
00:27:00.201 --> 00:27:03.781
When Atambayev did become a millionaire,

352
00:27:03.781 --> 00:27:08.434
many of today’s millionaires were only starting out.

353
00:27:08.434 --> 00:27:11.387
Salambekov was only starting out,

354
00:27:11.387 --> 00:27:17.025
and Babanov was a student at the Agriculture Academy in Moscow,

355
00:27:17.025 --> 00:27:22.036
but I was already a multimillionaire in dollars by then.

356
00:27:22.036 --> 00:27:26.063
I just wanted to make sure you remember that.

357
00:27:26.063 --> 00:27:30.448
Maybe I am too emotional, but it is time to work,

358
00:27:30.448 --> 00:27:36.443
to stop these revolutions, because they do nothing but kill people.

359
00:27:36.443 --> 00:27:41.007
What I want to say is that the country has changed,

360
00:27:41.007 --> 00:27:44.408
law enforcement agencies have changes,

361
00:27:44.408 --> 00:27:49.061
the government has changed and so did the President,

362
00:27:49.061 --> 00:27:51.925
who has the trust of the people.

363
00:27:51.925 --> 00:27:56.488
We will no longer tolerate any mess in the country.

364
00:27:56.488 --> 00:28:01.589
Any attempts to pressure the government by force will be 

365
00:28:01.589 --> 00:28:06.332
suppressed swiftly. If someone wants power, go ahead,

366
00:28:06.332 --> 00:28:11.969
the new president of Kyrgyzstan will be elected on November 19.

367
00:28:11.969 --> 00:28:17.786
Mr Putin, you have covered the outcomes of your visit to Bishkek 

368
00:28:17.786 --> 00:28:22.887
in detail, but you visited three Central Asian republics 

369
00:28:22.887 --> 00:28:24.945
over the past few days.

370
00:28:24.945 --> 00:28:30.225
What’s your take on current relations with these republics,

371
00:28:30.225 --> 00:28:36.399
and what are the promising areas of cooperation with these countries?

372
00:28:36.399 --> 00:28:41.232
And if I may, a somewhat off-topic question regarding 

373
00:28:41.232 --> 00:28:43.200
the Syrian settlement.

374
00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:49.196
Mr President, what do you think about the current stage of efforts 

375
00:28:49.196 --> 00:28:55.012
to reach a settlement in Syria? Do UN Security Council sanctions 

376
00:28:55.012 --> 00:29:01.366
interfere with this process? What do you think about the role of other 

377
00:29:01.366 --> 00:29:05.930
states in resolving the Syrian conflict? Thank you.

378
00:29:05.930 --> 00:29:08.435
Sorry for the long question.

379
00:29:08.435 --> 00:29:13.357
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which I visited,

380
00:29:13.357 --> 00:29:16.758
are our strategic partners and allies.

381
00:29:16.758 --> 00:29:23.111
In all these countries, Russia ranks first in terms of bilateral trade 

382
00:29:23.111 --> 00:29:26.691
and, despite current economic headwinds,

383
00:29:26.691 --> 00:29:29.733
Russia has retained this position.

384
00:29:29.733 --> 00:29:35.192
I've already mentioned the effectiveness of our institutions 

385
00:29:35.192 --> 00:29:37.966
in the Eurasian Economic Union.

386
00:29:37.966 --> 00:29:43.604
The economic growth and increase in industrial output in these 

387
00:29:43.604 --> 00:29:47.630
countries are the best evidence of this fact.

388
00:29:47.630 --> 00:29:51.389
These objective data speak for themselves.

389
00:29:51.389 --> 00:29:57.116
What else is important for us in our collaboration? For example,

390
00:29:57.116 --> 00:30:01.501
Tajikistan is not a member of the Eurasian Union,

391
00:30:01.501 --> 00:30:05.259
but we have very good bilateral relations,

392
00:30:05.259 --> 00:30:07.944
and positive economic results.

393
00:30:07.944 --> 00:30:13.403
There are things that we need to adjust on a bilateral basis,

394
00:30:13.403 --> 00:30:18.145
such as establishing logistics centres in Tajikistan,

395
00:30:18.145 --> 00:30:23.962
which we agreed upon today, in order to ensure the speedy supply 

396
00:30:23.962 --> 00:30:27.362
of inexpensive products to our market,

397
00:30:27.362 --> 00:30:31.837
especially in anticipation of the upcoming season.

398
00:30:31.837 --> 00:30:36.759
We agreed on creating logistics centres and continuing 

399
00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:39.622
to provide reduced rail tariffs.

400
00:30:39.622 --> 00:30:45.618
In general, we are actively working on all issues across the board.

401
00:30:45.618 --> 00:30:51.971
Providing security, fighting crime and terrorism are equally important,

402
00:30:51.971 --> 00:30:57.877
especially in this region, given that fairly complex if not grave 

403
00:30:57.877 --> 00:31:02.799
processes, which are a source of shared concern for us,

404
00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:06.557
are unfolding in neighbouring Afghanistan.

405
00:31:06.557 --> 00:31:11.837
However, all these countries are members of the Collective 

406
00:31:11.837 --> 00:31:13.806
Security Organisation.

407
00:31:13.806 --> 00:31:19.980
We will use this platform to further coordinate our actions and make 

408
00:31:19.980 --> 00:31:25.350
the necessary efforts, and during the visit we covered this 

409
00:31:25.350 --> 00:31:27.318
issue in great detail.

410
00:31:27.318 --> 00:31:33.672
With regard to Syria, we cannot but be pleased that the Astana process 

411
00:31:33.672 --> 00:31:36.983
was very positive through to the end.

412
00:31:36.983 --> 00:31:42.978
The consolidation of the ceasefire agreement and the establishment 

413
00:31:42.978 --> 00:31:49.064
of a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire are its undisputed outcomes.

414
00:31:49.064 --> 00:31:54.970
Without this, it would be impossible to continue the Geneva talks.

415
00:31:54.970 --> 00:31:58.370
All is not as smooth as we would like,

416
00:31:58.370 --> 00:32:02.934
but we always have the Astana platform as a backup,

417
00:32:02.934 --> 00:32:08.393
so to speak. We are grateful to the leadership of Kazakhstan 

418
00:32:08.393 --> 00:32:13.314
for the fact that the President himself was personally 

419
00:32:13.314 --> 00:32:16.983
involved even in the negotiation process.

420
00:32:16.983 --> 00:32:22.889
With regard to the sanctions, I think it is totally inappropriate 

421
00:32:22.889 --> 00:32:28.527
in relation to the Syrian leadership because it would not help 

422
00:32:28.527 --> 00:32:34.702
the negotiation process, and instead would damage or undermine trust 

423
00:32:34.702 --> 00:32:37.476
during the negotiation process.

424
00:32:37.476 --> 00:32:42.039
Russia will not support any new sanctions on Syria.