Ahead of his visit
to Serbia, Vladimir Putin answered questions from Serbian media –
the newspapers Politika and Večernje novosti.
January 16, 2019
00:00
Politika Newspaper
Question: Serbia and Russia
have enjoyed centuries of historical, cultural and religious ties;
as brothers in arms they have gone through two world wars. Today, we
are facing new challenges. What is your assessment of the present
state of our relations, and what is your vision of their future
development? The new TurkStream gas pipeline is widely discussed. Is there
any chance for our country in that regard?
President of Russia Vladimir
Putin: First, let me extend my warm greetings to all
the readers of the Politika daily, which is one
of the oldest periodicals not only in Serbia, but also
in the Balkans as a whole. I would also like
to seize this opportunity to convey my best New Year
and Christmas greetings to Serbia’s citizens.
As you have rightly put it, good
relations between Russia and Serbia are based on a true
friendship between our peoples, which dates back many centuries, as well
as on their spiritual and cultural kinship, shared history,
including their heroic struggle against Nazism during World War II. We have
carefully preserved and are seeking to develop the precious
traditions of trust and cooperation in the new, 21st century.
This commitment to close cooperation in the political, economic
and humanitarian spheres was reflected in the bilateral
Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed in May 2013.
Today, bilateral relations
in all spheres are on the rise. Mutual trade is growing:
in 2017, the turnover reached $2 billion, having also retained
the upward trend last year. Russian investments in Serbia's economy
have exceeded $4 billion. Cooperation with the Gazprom Neft conglomerate
made it possible for the Naftna Industrija Srbijecompany
to become a leader on the Balkan regional energy market.
The reconstruction and modernization of Serbia's railway infrastructure
is proceeding at a good pace with the participation of RZD.
The legal framework
for cooperation has been consistently improved. Contacts between
parliaments and political parties and public stakeholders,
as well as contacts in science, education and culture are
expanding. Russian experts are involved in a project to build
the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade. Thanks
to the sponsorship of our businessmen, the central dome
of this majestic building has been decorated with mosaics. To sum it
up, I strongly believe that such fruitful, diversified cooperation fully
meets the core interests of the peoples of Russia
and Serbia.
As for the TurkStream
project, it follows its implementation schedule. In November 2018,
the pipe-laying stage was completed on the sea leg
of the pipeline; works are underway to connect it
to the terminal being constructed on the Turkish Black Sea
coast. The plan is to put the gas pipeline into full operation
by the end of 2019.
Besides, Gazprom is currently
exploring various options to extend the land-based part
of the transit leg towards Europe. One of the options is
to transport fuel via Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary
to the gas hub in Baumgarten, Austria. In this case, Serbia
will not only use Russian gas but also facilitate its transit. This will
greatly benefit the Serbian economy, help create new jobs
and strengthen energy security in your country and, more broadly,
in central and southeastern Europe. The roadmap signed between
Serbia and Gazprom in 2017 for modernizing and expanding
the national gas transporting network will facilitate Serbia's
participation in the project.
Of course, we will take into
account the European Commission's position when deciding
on the route for Russian gas supplies. We assume that EU member
states interested in Russian gas should seek guarantees from
the European Union that the plans to extend the TurkStream
will not be thwarted by an arbitrary political decision
on the part of Brussels.
Question: At a time
when certain states in the region are building up armaments
and a so-called Kosovo army is being formed, can Serbia count
on Russia's support to further strengthen its defense capacity,
taking into account our neutrality and the fact that we are
surrounded by NATO countries?
Vladimir Putin: We highly
appreciate that the Serbian leadership remains firmly committed
to maintaining neutrality. At the same time, over the years
we have helped Serbia to enhance its defense capability by supplying
arms and military equipment and providing maintenance and modernization
support. We will continue to develop military and technical
cooperation.
To be honest, we were surprised
by a rather passive response from the European Union
to the decision by Kosovo's ”parliament“ to transform
the Kosovo Security Forces into a full-fledged army. It is clear that
the Serbians living in the province perceive this step
as a direct threat to their security. More broadly, it involves
serious risks of escalating the situation in the region. It
is hardly in the EU's interest to turn a blind eye
to such unilateral actions, which blatantly violate international law,
especially if Brussels wants to continue acting as a mediator
in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
As we have stated
on numerous occasions, the NATO expansion policy, in our view,
is a vestige of the Cold War, a misguided, destructive
military and political strategy. Today, the Alliance is trying
to strengthen its presence in the Balkans. However,
by doing so, it only draws new dividing lines on the European
continent and blatantly violates the principle of indivisibility
of security. At the end of the day, rather than
contributing to stability, all of this undermines trust
and increases tensions in Europe.
Question: Moscow has long been
advocating the creation of a new security architecture, yet
lately we have been witnessing some dangerous trends developing
in the world, including the recent statements by Washington
on its withdrawal from the INF Treaty. In your opinion, what
could be done to preserve peace amid exacerbating local and global
tensions?
Vladimir Putin: Indeed,
the United States is basically pursuing a course towards dismantling
the system of international agreements on arms control that
prevent it from bolstering its military capabilities, or trying to adhere
to the agreements selectively, i.e. only insofar as they serve
its interests. The declaration of the intention to withdraw
from the INF Treaty has become just another step in a sequence
of similar actions. It is obvious that such a course will have
the gravest consequences.
READ MORE AT
https://tributetoapresident.blogspot.com/2019/01/vladimir-putin-interviews-to-serbian.html
READ MORE AT
https://tributetoapresident.blogspot.com/2019/01/vladimir-putin-interviews-to-serbian.html
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