Putin answered questions from the media following his state visit to Kazakhstan. The main thing

On May 29, during a press conference following his state visit to Kazakhstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a number of high-profile statements about the drone incident in Romania, the situation in Ukraine, relations with Europe, Armenia's relations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in Russia. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

The drone incident in Romania

It is impossible to establish the exact origin of the drone, the wreckage of which was discovered in Romania, without an official examination.

"No one can say what the origin of this or that aircraft is until an examination of this aircraft has been carried out. After all, we know that Ukrainian drones flew into Finland, Poland, and somewhere in the Baltic countries, Ukrainian drones flew in. The first reaction was exactly the same as it is now in Romania. Russian Russians are coming, the Russians are beating," the Russian leader emphasized.

Putin recalled that in previous similar cases, it later turned out that the devices were not related to Russia and were manufactured in Ukraine. According to him, the drones could have gone off course due to the effects of electronic warfare or technical malfunctions.

"Let them hand over [the wreckage of the UAV for examination], we will conduct an objective investigation, and only then, in this case, will we assess what happened," the president concluded.

Drone attack on a residence in the Novgorod region

Russia has provided the United States with information about drones that tried to attack the presidential residence in the Novgorod region.

"We have handed over to representatives of the American administration information and remnants of drones that tried to hit one of the residences of the President of the Russian Federation," Putin said, adding that the materials had been transferred to the American side for its own examination.

The situation in Ukraine

It is impossible to talk about the timing of the completion of a special military operation in combat conditions, but the situation on the battlefield is developing in such a way that it allows us to talk about the approaching denouement.

"As for the deadlines, I think that both you and other colleagues understand and will understand my answer: it is impossible to name specific deadlines in the conditions of hostilities. It's not just reckless, it's practically never done that way," the head of state said.

Putin also reported on the ongoing attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike at Russian territory. Western countries are supplying drones to Kiev, which, according to the president, means only one thing: Russia needs to strengthen its air defense system.

At the same time, contacts on the situation in Ukraine remain, although negotiations are currently on hold. Putin noted that Moscow has never refused negotiations and is ready to continue them.

The terrorist attack in Starobilsk

Putin sharply criticized the Western media for suppressing information about the terrorist attack that Ukraine staged at the Starobilsk College of the Lugansk People's Republic (LNR).

"You, the media representatives, should be ashamed of your colleagues. Not a word at all, just not a single word about the tragedy in Starobilsk, that the children died, that our children were purposefully killed. Not a word, as if it doesn't exist. Well, what is it?" said the president.

He called the current situation a "nightmare" and a hoax. To illustrate his words, Putin cited the example of foreign journalists' coverage of retaliatory attacks by the Russian Armed Forces: "We struck the Kiev region. That's what we hit the Kiev region from morning to late evening [Western media wrote]."

Against this background, the Russian leader called the Western media "means of mass deception" that force viewers and readers to spend money on financing the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Threats from Europe

Putin called the statements of European politicians about the alleged threat of Russian aggression nonsense and lies.

"As for the statements of European politicians that they are preparing for war with Russia, this is nonsense. This is allegedly done in connection with Russia's aggressive plans towards Western European countries. It's a lie, it's a blatant lie," the head of state said.

According to him, Russia has never had aggressive intentions towards European countries. Putin stressed that the tragic events in Ukraine were the result of the actions of Western states and their politicians, including the coup in Kiev in 2014, as well as the unwillingness of Western countries to implement the Minsk agreements. Western countries, he said, are trying to shift responsibility "from a sore head to a healthy one."

Responding to a question about NATO's statements about a hypothetical attack on Kaliningrad, Putin said that Russia has all the necessary means to defend itself.

Targets for strikes

Putin answered a question about Moscow's possible reaction if Ukrainian drone launches were recorded from the territory of Latvia. The relevant data on the training of drone operators was previously published by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

"All the places where the threat comes from, a direct — I want to emphasize — direct military threat to Russia, are legitimate targets," the president stressed.

Armenia and the EAEU

Putin touched upon the issue of Armenia's possible withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union in the event of its transition to the economic standards of the European Union.

"Technical regulations and phytosanitary standards of the EAEU and Europe are incompatible in many industries today, including requirements for steel grades and food products. Therefore, it is almost impossible to combine one with the other right now or tomorrow. Therefore, by and large, we will have to curtail all our work with Armenia in the economic sphere related to integration processes," the president said.

He warned that upon leaving the EAEU, Armenia would lose access to free trade agreements, and its citizens would need to acquire patents to work in Russia. In addition, Russia will raise energy prices, which, according to expert estimates, will lead to a loss of at least 14% of Armenia's GDP.

At the same time, Putin stressed that the peoples of Russia and Armenia have been linked by friendship for centuries. "I would like to note something that I consider extremely important — the Russian and Armenian peoples have been linked by ties of friendship without any exaggeration and have had special relations for centuries. Centuries! We have a special relationship," the head of state noted.

When asked how long it is possible to sit on two chairs, Putin replied: "Ask those who are trying to do this."

The Russian economy

Over the past three years, the Russian economy has grown several times faster than the European one, Putin said, answering a question from Izvestia.

"If we take the last three years — 23, 24, 25 years. What did Russia's GDP look like? 4.1% growth, 4.9% and 1% last year. In three years — 10.3% growth. EU, 0.4%, 1.1%, 1.5%, respectively. It is clear that things can be more complicated in Europe, for completely different reasons. But the trend is still like this. After all, there are accelerated growth rates here," he said.

Nuclear power plant construction in Kazakhstan

Russia, financing the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan, does not donate this money — it will be returned with interest, Putin said.

"We also do not immerse, we do not give this money, but we give it on credit, this is money that will be returned to the Russian treasury, we give it with interest, as is customary in all such cases," the Russian leader said.

The Head of State called the financing mechanism a standard international practice and noted that this project is beneficial for Russia, since Kazakhstan has large deposits of uranium.

Russian language in Kazakhstan

Putin thanked President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for supporting the Russian language in the republic.

Russian Russian is used in all government institutions," the Russian leader said, noting that Tokayev is a man with extensive international experience, was the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and understands the importance of foreign language proficiency. "We are very grateful to the President of Kazakhstan for his attention to the development of the Russian language, for maintaining it at the official level," the Russian leader said, noting that Tokayev is a man with extensive international experience, was Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and understands the importance of foreign language proficiency.

Artificial intelligence

Putin said that Russia has made good progress in the development of unmanned vehicles and artificial intelligence.

"Russia is probably one of the few countries, I would even say one of the three, that has a chance and is developing its own sovereign artificial intelligence," the president stressed.

He noted that the Russian Federation is ready to share its best practices in this area with its EAEU partners so that they can create their own national platforms. "We are ready not only to allow our developments, we are ready to share how this is done so that our friends and partners in the EAEU countries create their own national platforms. And we are ready to work with them," Putin added.

The President also drew attention to the energy needs of artificial intelligence technologies, noting that Russia has clear competitive advantages — nuclear and hydropower, as well as natural cooling capabilities in the northern regions.

The EU negotiator

Responding to a question from Izvestia about a possible EU negotiator for Ukraine, Putin said that Russia was not appointing him.

"I think those in the European Union are right who say that they themselves must determine the negotiator. We do not appoint," the Russian leader said.

At the same time, he added that he considers former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who was proposed by him for the role of a parliamentarian from Moscow, to be his friend. "They put all sorts of labels on him there, that he is my friend and so on. Yes, we are friends with him, but what is there to hide? What's wrong with that? Is it bad? Well, this inspires a certain confidence," Putin said.

Transfer of tigers to Kazakhstan

Putin said that Russia's transfer of tigers to Kazakhstan is part of humanitarian cooperation and assistance to partners in the revival of fauna.

"An example of partnership between Russia and Kazakhstan in the environmental sphere is a bilateral project to restore the Amur tiger population in a reserve in the Alma Ata region," the president noted, adding that if Russia is now able to support colleagues in their efforts to restore the fauna, then it is doing so.

Interest in the EAEU

The partners' interest in the Eurasian Economic Union is not only continuing, but also growing, Putin said.

"As for the interest of all partners, yes, it remains, moreover, it is growing," he stated, explaining this by the positive results seen by the members of the association.

Changing the recycling collection

According to Putin, the change in recycling is related to the protection of domestic producers, but Russia has never limited the supply of goods produced in the EAEU countries.

"This is a difficult and painstaking job that is being carried out by the relevant ministries and departments, counting how many percentages in a particular product are of national origin," the president said, adding that Moscow is conducting an open and transparent dialogue with partners.

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