For Mr Putin, the $US100billion-plus ($F216.49b) Russian Federation still has in two rainy-day funds, is “the ultimate insurance policy to navigate the election”, says Christopher Granville, Trusted Sources managing director, an investment consultancy.
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“We face a common threat and just as we did then, we continue to strive today to unite the efforts of all states, both in Europe and the world at large, to combat these threats”.
“Invisible walls simply moved to the East. This created the foundation for mutual reproaches, misunderstandings and crises in the future”, Putin said.
Mr Putin said the only conceivable “civilian” targets hit by the Russian airforce are columns of oil tankers, but said “everyone is bombing them, including the Americans, French and everyone else”.
He stressed that the conflict would never have become so big if it had not been fueled from outside Syria with weapons, money and fighters. The group claimed responsibility for downing a Russian airliner over Egypt in October, killing 224 people.
Stephen Pifer, a Brookings Institution scholar and former US ambassador to Ukraine, pointed out that former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has also said that no such promises were made. But Putin noted that now relations between the countries are considerably different.
“One can not simply challenge European state borders”, the Bild reporter said.
Mr Putin also said his country would “resist” North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey if that country threatens Russia’s national security, referring to Turkey shooting down a Russian warplane in November on the accusation that the plane flew into Turkish territory. Photos of the meeting showed Merkel appearing rather nervous around the dog. “I told her so later and apologised”. “When I found out that she doesn’t like dogs, of course I apologized”.
He compared Crimea’s hastily organized referendum to the independence of Kosovo, the province that declared its independence from Serbia after a war and a nine-year occupation by United Nations peacekeepers.
“Everyone says that the Minsk Agreements must be implemented and then the sanctions issue may be reconsidered”, Putin told Bild, referring to Western sanctions imposed on Russian Federation.
Putin acknowledged that the sanctions, especially on financial transactions, are hurting Russian Federation severely.
But the continued slump in oil prices, with Brent crude trading below $33 on Monday, and worries over the state of China’s economy pummelled Russia’s markets and currency as trading began again following a break for the New Year and Orthodox Christmas holidays last week.
The country’s 2016 budget had been calculated on an oil price of $50 per barrel, a figure President Putin said was an “optimistic” assessment of the situation.
Putin voiced his support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying he trusted her.
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“I’m convinced that Angela Merkel is a very open person”.
