Putin at CIS Summit and Presser

From Friday the 13th.

In Bishkek for the CIS heads of State Summit, there were three sessions that will be covered below: Putin’s speech to the meeting in the “narrow format;”

Putin’s speech to the meeting in the “expanded format;”

and the presser that was held afterwards that covered a wide gamut of topics. The Summit also issued an important statement that will conclude this report.

Putin: Colleagues and friends!

Cooperation within the CIS is developing against the backdrop of a complex geopolitical situation – and Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] has just said this convincingly. At the same time, the Commonwealth remains a reliable and, of course, popular and effective format of cooperation, in which the participating states build relations exclusively on the principles of partnership, mutual benefit and consideration of each other's interests. And this seems to be such a common diplomatic phrase, but behind it are real things and the real state of our relations. So it really is.

Yes, this was also mentioned, and some countries that used to be part of the CIS, perhaps even today, do not work in this format. But what would you like to say? It all started with Georgia after the failed attempts of the former President of Georgia to solve some internal problems with the help of force and attacks on South Ossetia. That's how it all started – and with the consequences that arose as a result of this adventure.

Ukraine once signed the fundamental documents on the CIS, but in fact it never joined in full format. Ukraine has not ratified these documents, and there has been no ratification. It initially, in fact, evaded full-scale cooperation.

And a country like Moldova, it practically loses its identity, the elites of this country generally believe that they are not Moldovans, they call themselves Romanians. But this is their choice, the complete loss of the country's identity is the choice of the current Moldovan leadership. But they, I repeat, want to do this, no one can prevent this, except for the people of Moldova themselves, if there are people in this country who still consider themselves Moldovans.

This is the choice of each of us: do we want to preserve our identity or not? But working within the CIS gives us this opportunity and, on the contrary, strengthens our positions, without interfering with cooperation with each other and respect for our national characteristics.

It is no coincidence that despite the unprecedented sanctions pressure of Western states and their threats to apply so-called secondary sanctions against those who continue to work in bilateral formats with Russia or Belarus, our economic ties and exchanges within the CIS are consistently expanding. And this is in the interests of our peoples, quite obviously.

Moreover, as you can see, the basic, fundamental conditions for the development of our relations are being strengthened in Russia, and I mean, first of all, the current state of the Russian economy. I hope it will be so, we are fighting for it and in general we would like, of course, even more. But in general, the situation here is quite stable. This year, GDP growth will be almost close to three percent, and this is a good result for the Russian economy. I'm not even talking about all the other parameters and indicators, including unemployment, which is at the level of three percent, it is practically nonexistent. Yes, it is different in different regions, different groups of the population – also in different ways. I mean, unfortunately, we have higher unemployment in the Caucasus, especially among young people. But in general – we all know this, we are working on it – Russia is implementing all its economic plans, all its social development plans, we have not abandoned anything, on the contrary, we are implementing everything that was planned in previous years, all our national development goals are being fulfilled.

But what is very important – and our colleagues also talked about this here - is that the structure of the Russian economy is changing. We haven't seen such structural changes for a long time. As I have already said, the oil and gas sector accounts for three percent of our growth, while industrial production accounts for 43 percent. That is, what we used to buy in large quantities abroad is not everything, of course, it is impossible to do everything in one blow, but much is already starting to be produced in the Russian Federation. New engineering centers are operating and being created, and work is being carried out on a wide range of topics. This, in one way or another, certainly affects all participants in economic activity throughout the CIS. This is an obvious thing.

We have placed our main emphasis on the markets of our Commonwealth partners, as well as on working together, as I would like to emphasize, in a bilateral format, as you know, we are looking for such opportunities and finding them, I mean working together on import substitution and strengthening – which is very important, and I would also like to emphasize this-technology sovereignty.

Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich [Tokayev], also mentioned food security. In fact, what he said about Kazakhstan's export opportunities means, on the other hand, strengthening our food security. Russia retains such capabilities. Last year, as you know, there was a record, historically record harvest [of grain] - 158 million tons. This year it will also be very large, already over 130 million tons, about 134-135 approximately. This means that we still have a very large export potential. Russia is likely to retain the first place in the world in terms of wheat exports. Our grain exports will be around the same as last year, at least 50-60 million tons. And of course, I know that our friends and colleagues in the CIS also have their needs-everything will be met.

Last year, Russia's trade turnover with the CIS countries increased by six percent, reaching $ 102 billion.

In general, the CIS member states ' economies show positive dynamics in most indicators across the Commonwealth. In January–June, the total GDP growth was 2.2 percent. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that, for example, in the same euro area-yes, they seem to have a small growth of 0.5 percent this year, but the main industrial-developed economies of the European Union have gone into negative territory: minus 0.1 percent, minus 0.2, minus 0.3. In some Baltic countries – minus three a percentage. A recession is a recession. We do not rejoice in this, do not applaud, do not scoff-no, but simply state it. In our country, in the CIS, plus 2.2 percent. The increase in industrial production is even greater – 2.7 percent, the volume of cargo transportation is growing by seven percent. In this regard, of course, it is very important, as our colleagues also mentioned, to develop transport infrastructure. Yesterday I met with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Heydarovich [Aliyev]spoke in detail about our plans, including the development of the railway network and the development of highways. All this has serious and not only regional, but international significance in the truest sense of the word and, of course, will contribute to the development of the economy as a whole. Retail trade turnover grew by almost two percent.

We consider the creation of a stable and independent financial infrastructure, as well as the wider use of national currencies in mutual settlements, to be an important tool for further increasing trade operations and investment flows.

Yes, of course, I mean the Russian economy, the ruble is used most of all, but not only – the national currencies of our other countries are also used. And we will contribute to this in every possible way, we will work very correctly with all our partners, I mean first of all our financial and economic structures and central banks.

The issues of deepening foreign policy coordination within the CIS remain relevant. Of course, there is a need not only to regularly compare notes on pressing global and regional issues, but also to develop agreed concrete approaches and jointly promote these approaches, including in the UN and other multilateral platforms.

We are well aware of what a sin to hide here, we see that this applies not only to the CIS, but also to all of Russia's partners: they are trying to "push" everyone, if not to say frighten, intimidate, command someone. The leaders of the CIS countries, we are well aware of this, are still people who are primarily guided by national interests. Based on this, I hope we will continue to build relations in the future. On the contrary, we see that the rougher the attempt to put pressure on someone, the less success those who try to do it achieve.

And of course, it is important to work together with like-minded people from other regions of the world, with the countries of the so-called world majority, the global South, whose views are very close to us.

In this context, the recent expansion of the BRICS membership and its willingness to work with all partners who share its fundamental values and ideals offer additional opportunities. Therefore, the Russian side, which is chairing the association in 2024, will pay priority attention to establishing cooperation between the CIS and BRICS countries. We are chairing both the CIS and BRICS next year. And this gives us the opportunity to work together with you, in consultation with you, to build relationships with all organizations, including the BRICS.

Naturally, we welcome the draft joint statements "On international relations in a Multipolar World", "On the protection of the human and civil Rights to freedom of Religion", and "On cooperation in the field of digitalization in Public Administration"prepared for approval by the leaders today.

It also seems appropriate to intensify the joint efforts of the CIS countries on the anti-terrorist track.

In this regard, I consider it reasonable to support Tajikistan's concerns about these threats emanating from the territory of Afghanistan. The situation in this country is difficult, continues to be difficult, and there are enough threats. I think that Emomali Sharipovich [Rakhmon] will certainly say more about this, he knows the situation better, because he faces these problems right on the border.

First of all, it is necessary to ensure maximum effectiveness of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and other structures in the fight against financial support for terrorism, laundering of illegal income, organized crime, drug sales and corruption. This is exactly what the Agreement on the establishment of the International Center for Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and the Inter-State Program of Joint Measures to Combat Crime for 2024-2028, which has been submitted for our approval, are aimed at.

Of course, we are in favor of giving an additional impetus to the cooperation of the CIS countries in the humanitarian sphere. Obviously, there are opportunities for expanding contacts in such areas as culture, education, sports, and tourism.

The practice of determining the cultural capital of the Commonwealth every year is quite justified. This year, such a capital is St. Petersburg, and in 2024 the baton will be taken by Uzbekistan's Samarkand. I certainly agree with Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev that this ancient city with its rich culture and social life will attract a large number of tourists from our countries. We were there quite recently for one of the events, indeed, the city – I was not familiar with it before, but what I saw from the newly created one is impressive, this is really a great achievement of Uzbekistan, and of course, Samarkand with its ancient part, with an ancient component, will be very interesting for the whole Commonwealth.

Last year, the CIS launched a number of important joint initiatives to develop cooperation in sports. Now the Commonwealth regularly selects a sports capital on an annual basis and hosts the Games of the CIS countries. As you know, Kazan hosted the first such games in 2021, and this year they were held in Minsk. Minsk also deservedly received the status of the CIS sports capital. And I know that Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] and I discussed it, and it really turned out to be a full-scale, large-scale, interesting competition. And next year it will be – as planned, in any case – the Armenian Gyumri. I hope that despite all the dramatic events that are currently taking place in the region, as I will say later, Armenia will be able to hold these events.

The Year of the Russian Language is now being successfully held in the CIS, as our colleagues have already mentioned. We are grateful to our partners for supporting the Statement adopted today on promoting the Russian language as the most important consolidating element of the entire post-Soviet space and a means of interethnic communication. I remember well that this idea belongs to the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Dear colleague, we are very grateful to you for this idea. And I cannot but agree that this is our common heritage – free communication in the language. So, of course, we support it.

And of course, we welcome the fact that an agreement will be signed today on the establishment of an International Organization for the Russian Language, which will promote it in the world. Let me remind you that we discussed this on December 28, 2021. We are grateful to the President of Kazakhstan for this. We are all satisfied that the initiative is being implemented quickly.

It is important that the organization's activities in the Russian language are not limited to the Commonwealth, but will be open to all states that share its goals and principles. We are counting on the operational launch of this organization. By the way, we plan to place its headquarters in Sochi, if, of course, all the participants in this process do not have any objections or other proposals on this issue, which, of course, we will consider.

Of course, it is important for us to continue our joint efforts to preserve the memory of our common history and prevent its falsification. Young people should know the objective truth about the achievements of our peoples during the Soviet Union, about the heroic deeds of our fathers and grandfathers, first of all, of course, during the Great Patriotic War.

Measures should continue to be taken to support and provide social protection to veterans.

I believe that together we will widely celebrate the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. Let me remind you that by the decision of the CIS leaders, 2025 was declared the Year of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Year of Peace and Unity in the Fight against Nazism.

For all of us, I know it was just wild to see this terrible situation in the Parliament of Canada, when everyone stood up together and applauded the former Nazi, a soldier of the SS division "Galicia". It's just disgusting. Despite the fact that the Speaker of the parliament directly said that this man fought against the Russians during the Second World War. Don't they know that the Nazis fought against the Russians, Hitler fought? They know about it. They could not but know that if he fought against the Russians, then he also fought against the Canadians, and theoretically it is possible to imagine that he also killed Canadians, because Canada was, as you know, part of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Well, it was absolutely disgusting to watch when the head of the Ukrainian state, a Jew by nationality, applauds not some ideological follower of Nazism, but a person who personally exterminated the Jewish population of Ukraine. It's just disgusting. And I hope that nothing like this will ever happen in our countries.

But Alexander Grigoryevich is right here: to do this, you need to know the history. The speaker correctly said: a person fought during the war against the Russians – but you need to know who fought against the Russians during the war. And he immediately calls him the hero of Canada and the hero of Ukraine. It's just nonsense. But this, unfortunately, happens. And, by the way, we are talking about this: in European countries and in the same States, very few people know about it. Information was leaked there, and it was immediately flooded and muted. If they treat it this way, we will wait for the revival of Nazism on a global scale. Terribly simple.

Therefore, of course, we must do everything possible to ensure that nothing like this happens in our countries. In this regard, following the established tradition in the Commonwealth, [we should] consider it important to support, as I have already said, both front-line soldiers, home front workers, blockade runners, prisoners of Nazi concentration camps, and pay tribute to a number of other categories of citizens – taking into account the memorable awards of the USSR, and so on. The decision on the development and issue of a single commemorative medal should be made at the end of the month in Bishkek at a meeting of Prime ministers. I am referring to our joint efforts to preserve the memory of the victims of Nazism.

Dear friends, I would also like to briefly share Russia's assessment of the current difficult situation in the world, including in our common region.

International relations, as we can clearly see, are undergoing irreversible changes, which we can now say are irreversible. This, of course, is primarily related to trends in the global economy, because this is the base that everything else follows. And the trends are such that the countries of the so-called golden billion are gradually losing their leadership due to purely objective circumstances, despite attempts to maintain their leadership. Production volumes are increasing in the global South, while in Asia they are increasing.

I have already said this, and I can just say in general terms that the BRICS countries ' global GDP has already increased, especially after the BRICS expansion, and has significantly exceeded the G7 countries. And the trend continues-that's the most important thing. The trend of economic growth and power in Asia continues – and in the rest of the world.

Moreover, this is an objective process, there is no getting away from it, and it is followed by the formation of a multipolar system. It's not just about the events in Ukraine, and not even so much. Yes, they certainly increase the speed of these changes, but this is exactly what global trends are-trends in economic development.

We are convinced that only on the basis of the sovereign equality of States and a balanced balance of interests of the members of the world community can we ensure security and optimal development conditions for all countries. We feel that such approaches are supported by many countries. This was confirmed by the final documents of the recent SCO, BRICS, and Russia – Africa summits, and the Russia – Latin America parliamentary meeting follows the same logic.

At the same time, it is obvious that a narrow group of countries does not want to part with the elusive status of a hegemon and for this purpose directly provokes crisis situations in various regions of the world, actively inflames both old and new hotbeds of conflict.

I have already mentioned Ukraine, and this is just one example. In any case, for many years the situation was prepared to bring to an acute, " hot " phase. I have already said many times that I don't want to waste time here and your time on this, but nevertheless I would like to remind you that the Ukrainian crisis began in 2014, when a coup d'etat was organized, and then a war was unleashed, fighting in the south-east of Ukraine. That's how it all started.

Our special military operation is not the beginning of a war, but an attempt to end it. I won't go into details now, but when we have a face-to-face conversation, I am ready to share with you the current situation in this area.

Similarly, they persistently seek to undermine Russia's friendly relations with its allies in the broad sense of the word and partners. Moreover, as we know, any means and threats are used, including support for extremist and nationalist movements in our countries. Most of those present, I am sure, have experienced and seen this for themselves.

As another recent example of Western activity in strategically important regions far from them, but very close to us, we can certainly cite the situation in the Karabakh crisis, which we discussed in detail yesterday with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

As you know, over the past three years, the Russian side has made significant efforts to end hostilities and prevent escalation. With our assistance, relevant trilateral documents were prepared.

Ilham Heydarovich can confirm that all this time the trilateral format – Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia – has been working painstakingly to normalize relations between the two capitals, Baku and Yerevan, and the Russian peacekeepers have faithfully carried out their mission in Karabakh within the limits of their powers.

On the agenda is the preparation of a peace treaty to finally put an end to this long-standing conflict, and the Russian side is certainly ready to provide our partners with all possible assistance in this.

In particular, we agree with the organization of negotiations in Moscow, if necessary, in any format, starting with the foreign ministers and experts of Azerbaijan and Armenia. And, of course, we will help ensure that these negotiations end with a peace agreement to be signed by the leaders of these countries.

I repeat: the choice is always up to the respective country. We are ready to create the necessary conditions for this work.

I can't help but say a few words about the unprecedented escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as our colleagues have just said, during which thousands of civilians on both sides were killed and wounded.

What happened, the massive tragedy that Israelis and Palestinians are now experiencing, was a direct result of the failed policies of the United States in the Middle East. The Americans, with the support of their European satellites, tried to monopolize the Middle East settlement, but they were not concerned with finding compromises acceptable to both sides, and certainly never took into account the fundamental interests of the Palestinian people.

The one-sided line of the Americans for many years brought the situation further and further into a dead end. The" Middle East Quartet " of international mediators was not used: under far-fetched pretexts, the United States actually blocked this format, which was unique and, by the way, had a mandate approved by the relevant UN resolution. In general, an attempt was made to solve the political problem, the underlying problem, namely, the creation of an independent Palestinian State, with the help of certain economic incentives. And all this gradually, along with the settlement activity [of Israel], led to today's tragedy.

By the way, we are hearing – and we will probably talk about this in an informal setting – about plans to prepare for a ground operation in Gaza. You and I understand, in a semi – professional way, that the use of heavy machinery in residential areas is a complex matter, fraught with serious consequences for all parties. And without equipment in the same residential buildings, it is even more difficult to carry out these operations. The most important thing is that civilian casualties will be absolutely unacceptable, and almost two million people live there. The main thing now is to stop the bloodshed. Collective efforts in the interests of an early cease-fire and stabilization of the situation on the ground are more than in demand.

I would like to emphasize that Russia is ready to coordinate with all constructive partners. We believe that there is no alternative to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through negotiations. Their goal should be the implementation of the UN's two-State formula, which presupposes the creation of an independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, co-existing in peace and security with Israel, which, of course, – we also see this-has been subjected to an unprecedented attack in its brutality and, of course, has the right to defend itself, to ensure that its peaceful existence. We must take care to resolve this issue by peaceful means. In this situation, in this place, it seems to me that there is simply no alternative.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize once again that Russia sincerely values historically strong, friendly and truly trusting relations with its CIS partners.

For its part, next year, as the Chairman of the Commonwealth, Russia will make every effort to fully deepen equal and mutually beneficial cooperation. I will tell you more about the specific priorities of our presidency in an expanded format, but we will certainly continue what was done during the Kyrgyz presidency. I would like to thank the President of Kyrgyzstan for this work throughout the year and for organizing our meeting today.

Of course, we will take into account the proposals of Alexander Lukashenko to make greater use of various events at the level of interregional cooperation during our presidency in the CIS. We will definitely pay attention to this and suggest appropriate measures.

As for the deadline, we suggest October 8 next year.

Thank you.

Now for the “extended format”:

Vladimir Putin: Thank you, dear Sadyr Nurgozhoyevich.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to tell us more about the priorities of the Russian presidency in the CIS next year.

I would like to emphasize that Russia is determined to work actively to further strengthen the authority of the CIS as an integration association and to develop comprehensive cooperation within the Commonwealth based on the principles of mutual understanding, trust, equality and good neighborliness. First of all, it concerns solving key tasks aimed at improving the well-being and quality of life of our citizens.

We have prepared the Concept of the Presidency, as well as a detailed Plan of activities in the economic, law enforcement, cultural, humanitarian and some other areas.

We plan to give priority attention to deepening economic integration, including cooperation in the areas of digitalization – we talked a lot today, and our chairman spoke about this separately – energy, industrial and agricultural cooperation, transport and communications, ecology and innovation.

We would like to think together on how to more effectively link integration processes in the CIS area, in particular, to strengthen contacts between the Commonwealth and the Eurasian Economic Community in the economic sphere and with the CSTO and SCO in the field of security.

Taking into account the fact that Russia holds the BRICS presidency in 2024, which has expanded and is currently developing criteria and principles for cooperation with partner states, we will pursue a line of strengthening cooperation between the CIS member states and this association.

In general, Russia will certainly continue to make every effort to develop the Commonwealth's contacts with friendly States and international organizations. In this regard, we also welcome the decision taken today to establish observer and partner statuses in the CIS.

In the military and law enforcement spheres, the Russian presidency will focus on improving mechanisms for jointly countering both new and traditional challenges, and strengthening the external borders of the Commonwealth. We will do everything necessary to fully implement the relevant CIS programs, including the Concept of Military Cooperation and the Program for Strengthening Border Security.

Naturally, we attach great importance to working with our partners on expanding cultural and humanitarian ties, cooperation in healthcare, science, education and sports. We believe it is important to take coordinated steps to preserve the memory of our common past and counter attempts to falsify history and glorify Nazism.

During our presidency, we hope to give an additional impetus to the activities of the Inter – Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS member States. In particular, we are interested in intensifying cooperation between the legislators of our countries to form a common legal space, strengthen ties with the parliamentary associations of the CSTO and other partner structures.

I would like to note that the rich program of Russia's presidency in the Commonwealth includes a total of about 150 different events. The main one, of course, will be the next CIS summit, which we plan to hold on October 8, 2024 in Moscow. And of course, I would like to take this opportunity to invite all of you to take part in it.

I would like to emphasize that we will work in close coordination with the current chairman – Kyrgyzstan, and the next one – in 2025 – Tajikistan, and we will strive to ensure continuity in the implementation of initiatives put forward during the Kyrgyz presidency. And of course, we are determined to cooperate with all our CIS partners both bilaterally and in the context of our presidency.

In conclusion, I would like to once again thank the Chairman of the Council of Heads of State, the President of Kyrgyzstan and all our Kyrgyz colleagues – all of them, because they all worked very actively – for their hospitality. I am confident that the results of the work done by the Kyrgyz presidency, the decisions and documents adopted at the summit will contribute to further strengthening good-neighborly relations between our countries and the prosperity of the peoples of the Commonwealth.

Now the presser:

Vladimir Putin: Good evening!

I'm listening to you."

A. Vernitsky: Channel One.

The question of the future of the CIS. Georgia-left, Ukraine-one of the founders of the Commonwealth-has not cooperated with the CIS for a long time, Moldova - in the process of leaving, the chair of the Prime Minister [of Armenia] Pashinyan's office was empty today. What's next? What is the future of the union?

Vladimir Putin: Nothing has changed significantly.

Look here: Ukraine once signed the treaty and all the statutory documents of the CIS, but did not ratify them-Ukraine never did, it always tried to stay away. First.

Second. As for the free trade zone, yes, Ukraine was once very active in this direction and pushed for a free trade zone, believing that it was of some economic interest to it. But then everything went in the direction of signing the association Agreement with the European Union, and then it led to a coup d'etat, since President Yanukovych then postponed the signing. He didn't even refuse – he just rescheduled.

But if you read what the European Union offered Ukraine and what is apparently being implemented now, it simply amounted to the destruction of all the main industries that once Soviet Ukraine was proud of. We are now observing that there is nothing left.

Moldova is a special case. There, today's political elite considers themselves not Moldovans – they consider themselves Romanians and have dual citizenship. It's their choice. After all, there are many states in the post-Soviet space that are very closely connected – ethnically or linguistically-with neighboring states outside the CIS. They value their identity and do everything to preserve it. I'm sure it will. And the main thing is that people living in this territory, in these countries, have a strong internal desire to preserve this identity. Therefore, this is a special story, as they say.

I don't really understand Moldova's advantage in other ways of development, given that it is the poorest country in Europe – it was the poorest recently. It lost this palm to Ukraine: now Ukraine is the poorest in terms of income and all other indicators.

Recently, we heard that Moldova refused Russian gas – just as an example. So, it turns out, she didn't refuse – she still gets it safely. And where to get it? And at the same prices that it offered to Russia's Gazprom, while we met Moldova halfway in terms of pricing. Now I won't go into details: there is one price in one half of the year, another price in another, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that we did as they asked. They get paid. For some time there were problems with payment – now they are paying, everything is fine. Basically, they "store" this gas, if you can say so about gas, in storage facilities, including on the territory of Ukraine, in my opinion. But it doesn't matter – the important thing is that they can't do without it yet.

But this is ultimately their choice, as they want: they want-let them refuse, they want-let them take, they want-let them stay within the interests that unite the interests of the CIS country, they don't want – please, let them look for happiness on the side.

As you know about Georgia, all this happened after the provocation of the former Georgian leadership against South Ossetia. This was followed by events that are probably out of place to talk about now, but led to the deterioration of relations with the CIS. What the CIS has to do with it is unclear: in my opinion, they are to blame, but it is their choice.

Although our relations with Georgia are now even. They also have a great interest in cooperation with their neighbors. It's hard to imagine, but you can probably imagine everything… But nevertheless, they have much more economic benefits within the framework of good-neighborly relations than outside of these frameworks, that's all.

As for Armenia, Prime Minister Pashinyan called me, we talked on the phone, including about the upcoming summit, that is, today's summit. There are circumstances there that I think are quite understandable, but I won't tell you right now – you'd better ask the Prime Minister of Armenia. As far as I understand, Armenia is not leaving the CIS anywhere.

Moreover, look: the European Union has a powerful economy, what to say, highly developed and high-tech, which is the most important thing. But still, they will have 0.5 [percent] growth this year – and then, as I have already said, at the expense of the southern countries, whose economies have always been considered not as strong as in the industrialized regions of the European Union. 0.5 plus will be. All other countries are in recession. And in the CIS zone, it's still 2.2 percent plus.

Of course, the overall level of development is clear, there are no questions here – we have already said about the advantages of the eurozone, this is obvious. But the trend is still more positive for us. So why give it up? It's just stupid.

But there is one more circumstance, which is the most important. It consists in the fact that we are united by a single infrastructure inherited from the Soviet Union, we are united by the complementarity of entire industries, and we are united by a system of personnel training that is almost very similar in structure. There are extremely many circumstances that increase the competitiveness of each individual economy.

Therefore, this case is voluntary. All our decisions are made by consensus. If our colleagues see an interest in maintaining such relations, then we will do it-from our side. But as far as I saw today, the discussion was very lively, and many documents were signed that are, as they say in such cases, of mutual interest. Before accepting them, we also discussed and discussed various aspects of these documents, and they were signed.

Russia assumes the presidency in January next year. We have a huge program, and I also mentioned this in an expanded format-you can read it here. Everyone agrees with this agenda.

We'll keep working.

Alexander Vernitsky: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, please.

Olga Volkova: Hello!

Olya Volkova, RIA Novosti.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to know the details of your meeting with the President of Azerbaijan yesterday. In particular, was the issue of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh discussed? Now they are there on the basis of a trilateral agreement that was concluded between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Now that this territory has actually become the territory of Azerbaijan, what legal grounds will there be for their presence in this region? And in general, will they stay in this region, in Karabakh?

And if I may, one more question. What are the prospects for reaching a peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan?

Vladimir Putin: As for the fact that the territory of Karabakh now, as you said, has actually become the territory of Azerbaijan,it is not now. It finally became part of Azerbaijan after last year, in my opinion, in November, at a meeting in Prague, Prime Minister Pashinyan made a statement that radically changed the status of Karabakh, that is, it defined the status of Karabakh: Armenia recognized that Karabakh is part of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

All previous years, everything revolved around the same issue – the status of Karabakh. I won't go into details, but I want to say that we have been close to an agreement on Karabakh many times over the past decades.

What has always been the problem? We agreed that a referendum should be held, but one side said that it could not name the date of this referendum – this is Azerbaijan. Because if the referendum is held under the current conditions, and regardless of whether tomorrow or even in 20 years, the result of the referendum will be clear. And so it was suggested to simply attribute this to the decision of future generations.

The Armenian side, on the contrary, insisted on determining the date of the referendum, and in this referendum to determine the status of Karabakh. Because we also assumed that even if the referendum was held in 20 years, with the current composition of the population, the result would be obvious.

That was the crux of the problem, it was all about it, you know? This was the main problem – this, that is, in determining the status. And last year in Prague, the Armenian leadership closed this topic and said: Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. It even indicated the number of square kilometers and referred to the 1991 treaty of the year, when the state borders of the former Soviet republics were determined according to the borders that were formed in the Soviet Union. That's it, the topic is closed.

Therefore, when in November 2020 we agreed on the presence of our peacekeepers in this territory, first of all, their mandate was only one thing-to monitor the ceasefire regime. And secondly, the final status of Karabakh has not been determined – this is the crux of the problem, I repeat once again. And when Armenia recognized that Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan, then it turned out that our peacekeepers are definitely, without any doubt, on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. And of course, now-especially after, frankly speaking, the difficult events related to the exodus of the Armenian population – the situation has already changed completely, radically.

But formally, our peacekeepers will remain there until November 2025, and we, of course, in dialogue with our partners will have to determine and decide what and how we will do in the near future. We will resolve this in the course of negotiations.

Olga Volkova: Are there any prospects for a peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku?

Vladimir Putin: I spoke about it today – I don't know, in my opinion, even our pools [of journalists] were filmed there. He said that we would be ready to facilitate the resumption of peace talks in the hope of concluding a peace agreement and invited all our colleagues to meet in Moscow. Prime Minister Pashinyan knows about this, I told him, and the President of Azerbaijan knows about it. It seems to me that this is quite possible.

I don't see any problems that could prevent the conclusion of a peace treaty now, after the events in Karabakh. I just don't see any such problems.

There are issues of a purely technical nature, I think, related to the border-demarcation, delimitation, but these are technical issues, I think: 100 meters in one direction, a kilometer in the other, it doesn't matter. With the good will of both sides, all this can be done and the next steps can be taken, as we once agreed, to develop trade and economic ties and expand infrastructure projects.

Olga Volkova: Thank you.

Alexander Lazurenko: Mr President,

Izvestia Information Center.

You said yesterday that the Kant air base plays an important role in ensuring security in the region. At the same time, the American media write that all the equipment is on its own, that the base is empty. Still, does it maintain its proper level today?

And on the eve of the Kyrgyz parliament ratified the treaty on the creation of a joint air defense system. What is the significance of this step?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: You shouldn't be reading the American media. First, they often distort reality a lot. It is enough to listen only to the former President of the United States, you listen to him, he will give you a good description of the current level of development of the American media. They will teach you bad things.

As for Kant, yes, President Akayev called me at one time and asked me to urgently create such a unit, because, as you remember – you probably remember – a fairly large group of militants from Afghanistan came in and has already begun their movement here, across Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz army of that time had practically no opportunities to resist. Neighboring states tried to help with the help of aviation, because it was all spontaneous, and they got into the wrong places, and the effect was quite small, so President Akayev called and asked to urgently take the necessary measures. We did this at the request of the Kyrgyz side. This is an active unit. I've already told you where and how they worked. But this is a deterrent factor for various extremists. There is an aviation wing there, combat planes, helicopters – they are in Kant, they exist, they are on combat duty, they serve.

Everyday issues are being resolved. We are grateful to the President of Kyrgyzstan, today's leader, for this. He also does a lot to strengthen the aviation wing. At the same time, they create a certain stability of the entire group of peacekeeping forces within the framework of the CSTO.

A. Lazurenko: What about the joint air defense system?

Vladimir Putin: This is a very important event – the creation of an air defense system, especially considering that in general these are high-tech and expensive elements of ensuring the security of all our countries. Therefore, everyone agreed with this, not just agreed, but expressed a desire to develop this security component. We will move forward on this issue.

Of course, the question is not only about signing documents, but also about creating this system in practice. We will do this, including, by the way, taking into account the experience that we gain in the course of conducting a special military operation.

K. Chernyaeva: Interfax News Agency, Ksenia Chernyaeva.

My question is about the ruble exchange rate. You recently signed a decree on mandatory repatriation and sale of foreign currency earnings in the domestic market.

To what extent will these measures help to stabilize the market situation? After all, the market does not yet have a clear understanding of some of the details of this document – for example, which companies fall under this requirement. And is there any confidence that the steps taken will be enough to reduce volatility?

Vladimir Putin: Only an insurance policy gives you confidence, and only if you are insured by a reliable insurance company.

Let's see how this tool will work. But this is the result of the work of the Government, the Presidential Administration and the Central Bank. The decree I signed is the result of joint work.

There are different approaches to solving this problem. There is a problem, and it is related to a certain imbalance of cash flows – primarily those related to currency. At the first stage, we de-bureaucratized everything as much as possible due to various circumstances, but I won't repeat them now – you probably understand what we are talking about if you ask such questions – after the start of a special military operation.

But our economic operators quickly coped with all the problems that they were trying to create from abroad. And now there is reason to believe that the ruble exchange rate fluctuates, among other things, because foreign currency earnings are not returned in sufficient volume to use this money supply in the domestic market.

I do not know how effective this will be. In my opinion, the effect will be one hundred percent. I repeat, there are different approaches: the Central Bank has its own views, the Government has its own views, and the Administration has slightly different ones. But the signed decree is the result of a compromise between specialists, between experts, for example. And, of course, there is logic in the decisions made.

We also understand the potential threats associated with capital flows. Therefore, nothing lasts forever under the moon, let's see how it works, let's see how the institute of special commissioners of Rosfinmonitoring will work.

By the way, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that they are not appointed to regulate or manage anything, but only for one purpose-to have reliable and complete information about these cash flows, that's all, so that the state is aware of what is happening.

But if all our services have reached a certain compromise, which is set out in this decree, everyone assumes that there should be a positive result.

A. Kolesnikov: Kommersant newspaper.

Could you outline your position on Mikhail Fridman and other people who have been abroad and decided to return? What awaits them in their homeland? Does it depend on what they said and did abroad and thought? Roughly speaking, can their history of relations with the state be reset to zero, especially since there are and were some blots in this history? There are different opinions.

Vladimir Putin: The future of each of us depends on what we do today. This applies to everyone: people living here, living abroad, moving around. We are a free country, and a person has the right to choose a place of residence as he sees fit for himself. There are no restrictions here, and I don't see anything immoral here.

The question is in the behavior of this or that person, in his actions. If these actions are such that they violate the current laws of Russia, then, of course, everyone should be responsible for this, no matter where they are, here or abroad. This is the first one.

And the second – what does this or that person expect when returning to their homeland? It also depends on how he behaved. It is one thing to break the law, but another thing is to break some moral and ethical norms in relation to your homeland. If in the minds of the overwhelming majority, not some part of some elite, but the overwhelming majority of citizens, a person behaved immorally in relation to Russia, then, of course, he will feel this when he returns here, but how else?

You are welcome.

E. Zhelbunov: Edmund Zhelbunov, NTV.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, from your point of view, regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is there any prospect of resolving it in the coming weeks or at least in the coming months? And how is the Russian side ready to contribute to this process?

Vladimir Putin: Israel, of course, faced an unprecedented attack, which has never happened in history, and not only in terms of scale, but also in the nature of execution, in terms of brutality – well, what can I say, we must call a spade a spade. Israel responds on a large scale and also with rather brutal methods. Of course, we understand the logic of events, but despite all the bitterness on both sides, I still believe that, of course, we need to think about the civilian population.

I have already said this and I want to repeat it. We are currently looking at assessments of what is happening in the United States, and various scenarios are emerging, including that military and non-military measures can be taken against the Gaza Strip in the same way as during the siege of Leningrad during World War II. But we understand what this is about, and in my opinion, this is unacceptable. More than two million people live there. Not everyone supports Hamas, by the way, not everyone, and everyone should suffer, including women and children. Of course, hardly anyone will agree with this.

On the other hand, as I said today at a meeting with my colleagues, Israel, of course, has the right to ensure its security and guarantee this security. But we need to find these tools, find this way out of the situation. In my opinion, it can be achieved, of course, as a result of some mediation efforts.

As I have already said many times, there are a lot of our compatriots living in Israel – former citizens of the Soviet Union and Russia. This factor is real for us, of course. We can't forget about it.

But on the other hand, we have very good relations with the Arab world – many years, decades – and first of all, of course, with Palestine, which was promised at the time that a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital would be created. They were promised, and decisions were made at the UN level. They are entitled to expect these promises to be fulfilled. We need to combine all this and, of course, first of all think about the people who are not to blame for today's escalation at all. And to pretend that no one sees this, does not understand it, and puts it out of brackets is impossible.

E. Zhelbunov: Can Russia help you with this?

Vladimir Putin: And Russia can, precisely because of the fact that we have developed very good relations with Israel over the past, say, 15 years, absolutely, and traditional relations with Palestine. Therefore, no one will suspect us that we want to play along with someone. But if, of course, someone needs our mediation. This is always done only on the basis of the parties ' agreements.

You are welcome.

M. Kassab: RT Arabic TV channel.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green recently said about the supply of American weapons from Ukraine to the Palestinian movement Hamas for use against Israel, [that] it is possible.

Do you have any information about the extent to which this flow of American weapons can spread through the black market from the territory of Ukraine?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I see. I do not know what that woman said, Congresswoman, I do not know. But I doubt that there were arms shipments from Ukraine, I doubt it. But I have no doubt that there is a leak of weapons from Ukraine. The level of corruption in Ukraine is known, it is very high, and the black market is formed in such a way that there are many people who want to buy, and in Ukraine there are many people who want to sell.

You know, I remember very well, this is the tragic history of the Russian Federation itself: in the mid-90s, unfortunately, we had repeated cases when there was a war in the Caucasus, when our Armed Forces sold weapons to the opposite side – the one that fought with the Russian army in the Caucasus. They were taken directly from our warehouses and sold for money. Unfortunately, it was. It's a disaster, a tragedy, but it happened.

The same thing is happening in Ukraine today – they sell everything, everything that can be sold, everything is sold: if weapons are sold, weapons are sold. Moreover, they don't sell it to Russia, although if they sell it to Russia, I won't be surprised at anything – I'm not joking. And to the international markets through the countries of Africa and the Middle East – this goes without saying, they definitely sell. The black market for weapons is designed in such a way that those who want to buy, find these weapons, I repeat, through the third, fourth hands. There is nothing unusual here.

So, of course, we have data on arms sales, including to the Middle East. But it doesn't look like that… I have no sympathy for the current leadership of Ukraine, of course, but the fact that this is done at the level of the leadership of Ukraine-here I doubt it, of course. And the flow goes, of course, there is a whole stream.

Elena Korostovtseva: Let me ask you one more question.

TASS News Agency, Ekaterina Korostovtseva.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, you will soon have a visit to China. Please tell us what topics you would like to discuss during your talks with Xi Jinping.

And in continuation of the question about foreign visits. You also have other invitations to friendly countries, such as North Korea, Brazil, and Algeria. Are you planning to visit any of them in the foreseeable future?

Vladimir Putin: The trip to the People's Republic of China has long been discussed and announced.

The main topic is cooperation within the framework of the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss his idea of "One Belt, One Road". A big event. This process has been developing very actively and successfully over the past few years or ten years. Russia, of course, is interested in us developing our initiative of the Great Eurasian Partnership, the Eurasian Union, and linking all this together with our Chinese friends in order to achieve common development goals. We can do it. We don't have any contradictions here, on the contrary, we even have a certain synergy. This will be the main thing that we will discuss, various aspects of joint work in these areas: "One Belt, One Road", the Eurasian Economic Union and the creation of a Large Eurasian Partnership.

But also a large complex of bilateral relations. They're growing. I hope that this year we will almost certainly reach $ 200 billion in turnover. One of our main areas of focus is financial relations and further promotion of payments in national currencies. The volume is growing rapidly, there are good prospects in high-tech areas, in the energy sector, and we will look at new routes.

In general, there are a lot of questions, God grant that there is enough time to discuss everything.

Elena Korostovtseva: What about foreign visits to friendly countries?

Vladimir Putin: You know, I don't rule it out, but I try not to plan anything specifically yet.We have a lot of current issues at home that require special attention.

You are welcome.

Alexander Yunashev: Mr President, hello!

Alexander Yunashev, Life.

Finland has now launched an investigation into the Baltic connector gas pipeline explosions, considering it an act of deliberate destruction. They see this as a trace of Russia, considering that this is almost revenge for the explosions of the Nord Streams .

Vladimir Putin: Bullshit! To be honest, I didn't even know about the existence of this pipeline, because it is very small in volume. I don't know how much is pumped there, but if the Nord Streams are 55 billion cubic meters each, then here – I do not know how much-five, ten billion? This is the maximum, we need to see. Moreover, I repeat once again: I didn't even know that it existed, this pipeline.

Later, as far as Gazprom told me, it is not even as protected as our streams, so it could have been anything: technological reasons, a hook could have hit it, there could have been an earthquake, which is rare, but nevertheless happens, some kind of shift, the anchor could have been hit. I don't know, let them investigate, but they won't let us go anywhere, not to any investigations.

But these statements are being made. President Niinisto is a competent, intelligent person, and he cannot but understand that such statements are aimed only at one thing – to cover up the terrorist attack that the West has committed against Nord Stream, to divert attention to it. That's all.

You are welcome.

A. Nefedova: To continue the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There are many Russians living in these countries – both in Israel and in Palestine, and we already know about the dead and injured citizens. Does Russia plan to organize the export of its citizens? Is this necessary today?

Vladimir Putin: We are ready at any time when there are conditions for this. There are also bombings every day. If anyone wants to leave Israel, please, we will do it at any second.

Thank you for your question. I'm still broadcasting this question to the Foreign Ministry. If there is at least one person who wants to leave these territories urgently, we are ready to help.

A. Nefedova: And what should be done for this purpose? Apply to the Foreign Ministry or the embassy?

Vladimir Putin: Apply to the embassy.

A. Nefedova: Thank you.

E. Zhelbunov: Can I ask you another economic question?

Vladimir Putin: Please.

E. Zhelbunov: After your decree on the sale of foreign currency earnings, the dollar exchange rate, of course, fell by several rubles – 97 kopecks [became].

Vladimir Putin:There is some effect.

Evgeny Zhelbunov: But it's still almost 30 rubles more than last year.

The question is: can we really go back to last year's performance? What should be done for this purpose? Or do we still get used to the ratio of one to a hundred approximately?

Vladimir Putin: No, we need a slightly lower exchange rate for the budget. If everything was normal, and the decree would not exist.

But I will tell you what may be important: the dollar exchange rate against the ruble is not associated with any problems in the economy. There is no such thing. Our economy is stable, macroeconomic indicators are good, and the forecast for the next six months or a year is generally easy and free.

The issue is simply currency regulation. We have completely abandoned it, but in modern conditions, apparently, our economic operators prefer to leave a significant part of foreign currency earnings abroad. That's the whole point.

And taking into account the fact that imports have increased, commodity flows have recovered, and logistics have improved… As we have in the people say: gol on inventions is cunning. No matter what they come up with, we still have smarter people, they will come up with workarounds, and they did. The volume of imports increased, and the desire to leave the proceeds abroad increased.

Of course, all this is related to the economy, but not to the fundamental parameters of the Russian economy today, they are stable and normal, but the regulation will definitely have to be corrected somehow. The decree is an attempt in this direction. We'll see how effective it will be. In accordance with the analysis of what will happen in the foreign exchange market, we will make decisions.

You are welcome. Let's go quickly.

Olga Matveeva: Olga Matveeva, Mayak radio station, Vesti FM.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not attend the CIS summit. Please tell me if you have any plans to meet with him in the near future. And when he congratulated you on your birthday on the phone, did he invite you to visit Yerevan?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, we are in contact with him. And there is an invitation, and his invitation is to Russia. We'll see.

But we understand everything, look, we are all adults, we understand what is happening there: this is the tragedy of the Armenians of Karabakh. He probably doesn't have time to travel right now. But we remain in contact, we work with him, we are constantly in touch. Therefore, the situation will be normal – and I will go to them, and they will come, he will come. We have an appropriate work schedule, all our services are in contact: both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the economic unit of the Government are working. Our work does not stop, the work goes on.

All?

A. Yunashev: Can I talk about my birthday? Managed to mark it, if not a secret, and how?

Vladimir Putin: Well, colleagues came – Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich [Tokayev] came and Shavkat Miromonovich [Mirziyoyev], we worked.

This is not an invented event, we have been working towards this for a long time. Because this year, in winter – last winter, it turns out – the countries of Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, faced a very difficult situation: It was minus 21, minus 24, as President Mirziyoyev said. It's just a disaster for them. The power system was not ready for such temperature conditions.

Even then, he asked: is it possible to supply at least a small amount of additional gas to Uzbekistan? And it seems to be possible, but when they started checking – it turned out that it was impossible, because the Central Asia – Center pipeline system was designed to supply Uzbekistan to the Soviet republics. Eight regions were supplied with gas from Central Asia – 80 billion cubic meters to eight regions, and now they need it themselves, it turned out. The economy is growing, thank God, and temperatures are falling.

But it turned out that the gas pipelines needed to be put in order, and they really worked, if not day and night, then very hard: for three months in a row on our site. It turned out that there was a lot to do on our site, because in reverse mode it was necessary to start the stream on Alexandrov Guy. Then the Kazakhstan section turned out to be very difficult: there was some kind of privatization, some looping was done. In general, it was necessary to carry out a lot of work, and even in Uzbekistan itself.

Therefore, we first carried out legal work and reconciliation. Then the specialists, on my direct instructions to Gazprom, went to our site together, the three of them, to make it clear that we are not closing anything on purpose, but that the problems are technical, so that our Uzbek friends and Kazakh friends can see them. They went together to our site, then to the Kazakh site, then together went to Uzbekistan. We made this assessment, checked everything with our own eyes, looked at it, understood the scope of work, understood how much it costs, where to get equipment, where to get teams. All this was put together and in three months all this was put in order.

This is a huge job. In order to supply gas for this heating season, everything was done. In reality, all this was ready somewhere on the 1st, test launches were made, and by October 6-7 [October] they were already picked up. Indeed, it turned out that way. They stayed for lunch on the 7th: the three of us sat with them, the three of us, "figured it out for three".

Thank you very much. All the best!

Statement of the Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States on International Relations in a Multipolar World:

We, the Heads of State of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States: the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan,

Adhering to the principle of openness to the outside world and striving to transform the CIS region into a space of peace, cooperation, sustainable development and shared prosperity,

Taking into account the rapid nature of the changes taking place in the world and the transformation of the architecture of international relations,

Taking into account the steady trend towards the formation of a multipolar world order, the increasing role of emerging market and developing countries actively participating in global development processes,

Reaffirming the need to ensure favourable international conditions for the free, secure and progressive development of all States and equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among them, as well as expressing concern over attempts to exert political, financial, economic, socio-cultural and informational pressure in international relations,

Reaffirming the openness of the CIS to broad international cooperation in accordance with international law on the basis of mutual consideration of interests and common approaches,

Considering unacceptable actions aimed at weakening the role of international institutions and universally recognized forums as multilateral platforms for developing approaches to topical international problems,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations and reaffirming its firm commitment to respect for the universally recognized norms and principles of international law,

Affirm that the formation of a multipolar world order expands the space of opportunities for states and their associations for free and successful internal development, the implementation of mutually beneficial, equal and mutually respectful international cooperation;

Note the growing need for the formation of a just world order that excludes the use of double standards in the maintenance of international peace and security, based on the diversity of civilizations, the balance of power and interests of all participants in international relations and guaranteeing the security of all States, the preservation of their cultural and civilizational identity, and equal opportunities for comprehensive development regardless of geographical location and size of territory; demographic potential, ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms,

We note the importance of forming a sustainable multipolar world order, primarily on the basis of the following:

the supremacy of international law in international relations, the observance of universally recognized principles and norms of international law in their entirety and interrelatedness;

respect for the right of sovereign States to choose models for their social, political and economic development and organization;

equal and indivisible security in the global and regional aspects, the unacceptability of strengthening the security of some states at the expense of others;

the primary responsibility of the UN Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security;

cooperation on the basis of a balance of interests and mutual benefit;

diversity of cultures, civilizations and models of organization of society, reliance on traditional spiritual and moral guidelines, development of intercultural and interreligious dialogue;

the inadmissibility of the use of unilateral restrictive measures, including economic measures, in international relations in violation of the UN Charter;

development of mutually beneficial economic, scientific, technical, cultural and humanitarian cooperation and expansion of integration processes;

the need for a responsible approach of states in the consideration of globally significant issues in order to ensure stable and favorable conditions for universal development;

Express concern over attempts to politicize international justice;

We declare our intention to uphold these approaches and to help build a secure architecture of international relations to address the problems of international and regional development.

The statement affirms the reality of the world dividing into two Blocs—one that behaves according to the above principles and the other striving to have its own way no matter what it does. The result of such behavior is seen within all global crises, most notably in Ukraine and Palestine, but elsewhere as well as globally when the global debt factor is contemplated. On that, there was recent development at the IMF meeting in Morrocco that’s being covered up by the events in Palestine. Micheal Hudson has just published a paper about that meeting along with one about the BRICS bank, which as we discussed ought to replace the IMF.

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