Putin’s Feb. 24 Interview with Zarubin
Feb. 27—The Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin interviewed President Vladimir Putin at some length on Feb. 24. The following are excerpts, by machine translation from the Kremlin site: Note: The [English is now posted to the President’s website, with slightly different translation.
On Ukraine: Zarubin asked if Trump was playing into Russia’s hands on the Ukraine matter, as some in the West say. Putin: "I believe that this is absolutely not the case. I have my own point of view on this matter, it is the opposite of what you have just stated…. Because in reality it doesn’t matter how many percent he [Zelenskyy] has—four or whatever. What’s important is that his rating, according to our data—they are objective—is exactly two times less than that of his possible closest political rival. This is Mr. Zaluzhny, the former commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, who was exiled to London—his rating is exactly twice as high….
“Among other things, the current [U.S.] President has declared that he wants to achieve peace—and by the way, so do we—and as quickly as possible. And the current head of the regime is standing in the way of achieving this goal. That is where the position of the President of the United States comes from, as I see it.”
On Trump’s Approach: Zarubin asked if Trump acts “on the basis of emotions?” Putin said: “Of course not.” Question: “Do Europeans even understand, in your opinion, the essence of the current situation around Ukraine?” Putin: "You should ask them. Judging by the way they act, it seems to me that they do not really understand. But that is not even the point. The point is that, unlike the new President of the United States, the political leaders of European countries are connected with the current regime, they are engaged….
“Unlike them, the current President of the United States, the new President, the newly elected President—he has his hands free, he is free from these shackles that do not allow him to move forward and work towards resolving the conflict, and in his character, probably—he acts straightforwardly and without any particular embarrassment. He is in a unique position: he does not simply say what he thinks, but he says what he wants. Well, this is the privilege of the leader of one of the large, great powers.”
On the Riyadh talks: "I saw the reaction to our telephone conversation with the U.S. President, and I saw the reaction to the high-level meeting in Riyadh. It is, indeed, emotional and devoid of any practical meaning. Why? Because in order to resolve complex and even acute issues, including on the Ukrainian track, both Russia and the United States must take the first step."
“What does it consist of? This first step should be devoted to increasing the level of trust between the two states. This is what we did in Riyadh, this is what the nearest, perhaps other high-level contacts will be devoted to. Without this, it is impossible to resolve any issue, including such a complex, acute issue as the Ukrainian crisis.
“But what do the Europeans have to do with this? This concerns bilateral Russian American relations. Why do we need them here? What will they do here?”
On the role of the BRICS: “I want to emphasize we respect the position of our friends from BRICS, who created a group of supporters of peace. Today I just spoke with the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, and we also discussed this. He informed me that the Friends of Peace group in New York will meet again soon and will discuss this. We not only welcome, we are grateful to all our partners who raise these issues, who strive to achieve peace. What am I saying? Not only Europeans, but also other countries have the right and can participate, and we respect this.”
On Russia and the U.S. cutting defense budgets: Zarubin mentioned that Trump “said that he wants to propose to you and the head of China to cut defense budgets in half. How do you like this idea?” Putin: “I cannot comment on how the People’s Republic of China will react to this. There were various approaches from the American side regarding strategic offensive weapons and other very serious issues. Therefore, this is a matter for the People’s Republic of China. But we could come to an agreement with the United States, we are not against it. I think the idea is good: the United States would reduce by 50%, and we would reduce by 50%, and the People’s Republic of China would then join in if it wants. We think the proposal is good, and we are ready to discuss it.”