Delivering his annual state of the union speech Thursday, Putin referred to Crimea as Russia's spiritual ground. He called the region "the same as Temple Mount in Jerusalem for those who confess Islam and Judaism. And this is exactly how we will treat it from here for ever."
On the subject of Western sanctions, he said, "When anyone thinks Russia has become strong, independent, such instruments are applied immediately.
“This is not just a nervous reaction of the United States and their allies to our stance in regard to the events and coup in Ukraine; not even in regard to the so-called Crimean spring," he added. "I am certain that if all this did not take place ... they would come up with another reason to contain Russia's growing capabilities, to influence it or, even better, use it for its own goals.”
Economy affected by sanctions
Russia's economic situation has unraveled since the United States and the European Union imposed a series of increasingly harsh economic sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and what they see as support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia had pitched itself into isolation through its own actions in Ukraine and could rebuild international credibility only by ending its support for pro-Russian separatists.
Speaking at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE), Kerry said on Thursday that Moscow had failed to live up to its commitments under September Minsk cease-fire accords to end the conflict in Ukraine.
"It is not our design or desire that we see a Russia that is isolated through its own actions," he said at the meeting in Basel, Switzerland.
"In fact we are convinced that Moscow could rebuild trust and relationships if it simply helps to calm turbulent waters, if it takes steps now to implement the Minsk Protocol," Kerry added.
Of Ukraine, Putin said, “Every nation has an inalienable, sovereign right to its own path of development. ... Russia always has and always will respect that."
However, he said Russia was justified in intervening in Ukraine because the West had supported a "coup" in Kyiv, when former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych was forced from power in February.
"What we are seeing now in Ukraine, the tragedy in the southeast, fully confirms that our position is right," Putin said.
Western sanctions, coupled with a sharp decline in oil exports and the free fall of the Russian ruble, prompted Moscow on Tuesday to predict the Russian economy will further contract in 2015.
Weakened ruble
The ruble saw a gain in the morning when Putin began elaborating pro-business reforms, including an amnesty on capital returning to Russia, a freeze on higher taxes, and an easing of regulations for small businesses. However, investors were unimpressed by the promised reforms and the ruble weakened later in the day.
The ruble has declined by 60 percent against the dollar since the start of the year, and is down by some 45 percent against the euro. On Monday, it suffered its biggest one-day fall since the 1998 financial meltdown after oil prices sank further.
In his speech, Putin said the country's National Weath Fund should be used for supporting domestic banks. “We have a large amount of internal savings, they should become effective investments,” he told members of parliament and other top Kremlin officials on Thursday.
He also said as of November 1, the fund, which aims to cover future pension shortages, stood at $81.7 billion. He suggested using the reserves "for lending to the most important projects in the real sector of economy.”
Hours before Putin's speech heavily armed gunmen in Chechnya killed several police and stormed several buildings including a school in the capital Grozny.
Some material for this report came from Reuters AFP and AP.
http://www.voanews.com/content/russias-putin-defends-annexation-of-crimea/2545475.html
4/12/14
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Putin says foes hope to dismember Russia; ruble falls ...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin accused Russia's enemies on Thursday of seeking to carve it up and destroy its economy to punish it for becoming strong, but said his country would rise to any challenge.
In a fiercely patriotic state of the union speech, the Kremlin leader trumpeted his annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, praised the Russian people for their strength, accused the West of "pure cynicism" in Ukraine and said economic sanctions must drive Russians to develop their own economy.
"We are ready to meet any challenge of the times and win," he declared to applause from an audience of 1,000 dignitaries, almost all of them loyal supporters.
But the ruble fell as he delivered a speech that showed no sign of a retreat from policies that have brought his country to confrontation with the West unseen since the Cold War..................http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/04/us-russia-putin-ukraine-idUSKCN0JI0QF20141204?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
4/12/14
Merkel's spokesman denounces Russian leader's speech comparing Crimea and Jerusalem...
ReplyDeleteRussia's comparison of Crimea and Jerusalem does not legitimize the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's official spokesman has said.
The comments by Steffen Seibert on Friday came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared in a speech to the Russian parliament: " Crimea is toRussia what Jerusalem is to Muslims and Jews."
Describing Putin's speech as a "religious exaggeration", Seibert said Putin should know the Crimea belonged to "people of different religions" for hundreds of years.
Seibert said that Germany had stated its "clear stance on all aspects on the Ukraine-Crimea crisis and the conflict with Russia" for months.
Controversial poll
"Our politics is not against Russia," Seibet said, adding that Germany's politics sought to find a diplomatic solution in Crimea where human rights were being violated.........................http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/431309--crimea-belongs-to-people-of-different-religions-germany
5/12/14