Zarubin Interviews Putin

After his meeting on rare earths and the need to crank up that industry, which the Kremlin only provided Putin’s introductory remarks, Rossiya 1’s always seemingly present Pavel Zarubin asked Putin a series of questions from rare eaths to Ukraine to Trump and more:

Pavel Zarubin: Mr President, we have just watched your meeting on rare earth metals. I'm sorry, but I think that now all journalists in the world are interested in rare earth metals, but in a slightly different aspect. After all, the United States, to put it very mildly, strongly asks Zelensky to sign an agreement with them on these resources to pay for assistance to Ukraine by the former Administration-the Biden Administration. How do you assess the prospects for such an agreement?

Vladimir Putin: This does not concern us. I don't rate it in any way, and I don't even want to think about it. Of course, you need to evaluate these resources, how real they are, how much these resources are, how much they cost, and so on. But this, I repeat, is none of our business.

Our business is what we discussed at the meeting just now. Rare and rare-earth metals are a very important component, very important resources for modern sectors of the economy. We are not doing much in this direction yet, and we must do more. And the purpose of today's meeting is to focus on the first stage of administrative resources to work in this area.

By the way, we would also be ready to offer [cooperation] to our American partners – when I say partners, I mean not only administrative and government structures, but also companies – if they showed interest in working together.

We certainly have an order of magnitude – I want to emphasize this – an order of magnitude more resources of this kind than in Ukraine. Russia is one of the undisputed leaders in terms of reserves of these rare and rare-earth metals. We have them in the North – in Murmansk, in the Caucasus-in Kabardino-Balkaria, in the Far East, in the Irkutsk region, and in Yakutia, in Tuva. These are quite capital-intensive investments, capital-intensive projects. We would be happy to work together with any foreign partners, including American ones.

Yes, by the way, as for the new territories – the same applies: we are ready to attract foreign partners, and our so-called new historical territories, which have returned to the Russian Federation, also have certain reserves there. We are ready to work with our foreign partners, including American ones, there as well.

P. Zarubin: In new regions, too?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.

Pavel Zarubin: These days we see a flurry of statements and discussions, and everyone is discussing Trump, why he says so harshly that Zelensky should go to the polls, that he has a rating of 4 percent. Europeans are very critical of Trump for all these statements. And in general, there are already such opinions that the current approach of the US President, rather, plays into the hands of Russia. Do you think this is really the case?

Vladimir 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.

The fact is that the current head of the Kiev regime is becoming a toxic figure for the armed forces of Ukraine, because he gives ridiculous orders dictated not by military considerations, but by political considerations, while it is unclear what they are based on. And this leads to unjustifiably large losses, if not to say very large or catastrophic losses for the Ukrainian army. It also becomes toxic to society as a whole. And this is evidenced, in my opinion, by today's vote in the Parliament to extend his powers.

Finally, he stymied himself with a decree banning negotiations with the Russian Federation on a peace treaty, and stopped these negotiations. And what's the deal? The fact is that he is avoiding these negotiations. Why? Because if these negotiations start, it will sooner or later, and most likely quickly enough, lead to the need to lift martial law. And as soon as this happens, you should immediately go to the polls. Then there will be no reason not to hold elections, because today elections in Ukraine are not held under the pretext of martial law. And if there are negotiations, then a possible quick need to lift martial law–-then they should immediately go to the polls. And this is where the current head of the regime has a problem.

Because it doesn't really matter how many percentages he has–-four or how many. Other things are important: that his rating, according to our data–-they are objective in nature–-is exactly two times less than that of his possible closest political rival. This is Mr. Zaluzhny, a former commander of the armed forces of Ukraine, who was exiled to London—he has exactly twice the rating.

And if you add to this the possible support of this possible candidate from other political figures, including former prime ministers or former presidents, then the current head of the regime has absolutely no chance of winning the election. They are zero. But if, of course, it is rude to rig something, but this is also bad for him–-it will be very noticeable.

Therefore, it is a factor in the decomposition of the army, society, and the state. And the current President [of the United States] Trump probably understands this and pushes him to choose. He wants to do something, as I see it: he wants to improve the situation, the political situation in Ukraine, consolidate society, create conditions for the survival of the Ukrainian state. And in general, this is not so much for the benefit of Russia, since we still have a conflict with the current regime, as it is for the benefit of Ukraine itself.

Among other things, the current President has announced that he wants to achieve peace–-and so do we, by the way–-as quickly as possible. And the current head of the regime is on the way to achieving this goal. Hence,I think, the position of the President of the United States. And it is not related to the fact that this is in our Russian interests, it is most likely in the interests of Ukraine, the Ukrainian state, in order to preserve Ukrainian statehood. We have nothing against this either. Although, of course, we would like this territory not to be used as a springboard for an attack on the Russian Federation, not to be used as a springboard hostile to us, so that eventually it turns into a friendly neighboring state.

P. Zarubin: We hear a lot of different statements from Trump every day. You've met him more than once, and you recently had a phone conversation with him. Does he act on the basis of emotions?

Vladimir Putin: Of course not. Naturally, the current head of the regime in Kiev gives a reason to show these emotions. But from what I have just said, something completely different emerges: these actions are based, rather, not on emotions, but on cold calculation, on a rational approach to the current situation.

In the current situation, we, oddly enough, frankly speaking, were interested in him sitting there and further corrupting the regime with which we are in an armed conflict. And from the point of view of the interests of strengthening Ukrainian statehood, here, of course, we need to act, apparently, more energetically and in a completely different direction–-to bring to power people who will enjoy the trust of the people of Ukraine.

P. Zarubin: But do the Europeans generally understand, in your opinion, the essence of the current situation around Ukraine?

Vladimir Putin: You should ask them that. Judging by the way they act, I don't think they really understand. But that's not even the point. The fact is that, unlike the new President of the United States, the political leaders of European states are connected with the current regime and are biased. And they have said too much and promised too much, and now, sorry for the simplicity of the expression, it is very difficult or almost impossible for them to "steer away" from this position without losing face. And given that they are in a rather difficult and responsible internal political period of elections, re-elections, difficulties in parliaments, and so on, it is almost impossible for them to change their position.

Unlike them, the current President of the United States, the new President, the newly elected President–-he has free hands, he is free from these fetters that do not allow us to move forward and work towards resolving the conflict, and in his character, probably, he acts directly and without any special restrictions. His position is unique: he doesn't just say what he thinks, but he says what he wants. Well, this is the privilege of the leader of one of the major, great powers.

Pavel Zarubin: A few days ago in St. Petersburg, I asked you that everyone now wants to have a certain voice in the Russian-American negotiations, but the Europeans continue to insist on having a voice in the negotiations around Ukraine.

How do you view this?

Vladimir Putin: I don't see anything wrong here. Probably, no one can demand anything here, especially from Russia, even if they demand it from someone else. They have been demanding anything from their vassals for thousands of years, and now they are already being asked. So let them sit at home with their demands and think about how they got to this life.

But their participation in the negotiation process is in demand, of course. And we never refused, we had constant discussions with them. It was at some point, under all sorts of far-fetched ideas to defeat Russia on the battlefield, that they themselves refused to contact us. If they want to come back, please.

I saw the reaction to our telephone conversation with the US President, and I saw the reaction to the high-level meeting in Riyadh. It is really emotional and devoid of any practical meaning. Why? Because in order to solve complex and even acute issues, including on the Ukrainian track, both Russia and the United States must take the first step.

What is it? This first step should focus on increasing the level of trust between the two countries. This is exactly what we have been doing in Riyadh, and this is what our next high-level contacts will be devoted to. Without this, it is impossible to solve any issue, including one as complex and acute as the Ukrainian crisis.

But what does the Europeans have to do with it? This concerns bilateral Russian-American relations. Why do we need them here? What will they do here? Both in the telephone conversation, by the way, and at the meeting in Riyadh, of course, we touched upon the problems related to the Ukrainian crisis, but it was not really discussed in itself. We just agreed that we will approach it. In this sense, and in this case, of course, we do not refuse the participation of European countries.

I would like to emphasize that we also respect the position of our BRICS friends, who created the peace group. I just spoke with the President of the People's Republic of China today, and we also discussed this. He informed me that the Friends of Peace group will meet again in New York in the near future to discuss this issue.

We not only welcome, but also thank all our partners who raise these issues and strive for peace to be achieved. What am I talking about? Not only Europeans, but also other countries have the right and can participate, and we respect this.

P. Zarubin: I would like to ask you to comment on a few more statements by Trump, which, as I said, are very numerous.

Vladimir Putin: But not everything, okay?

Pavel Zarubin: But not all of them. He, for example, said that he wants to suggest that you and the head of China cut defense budgets in half. How do you like this idea?

Vladimir Putin: I know, I can guess what this is based on. This is based, apparently, on the calculations of one, I think, of the British research centers, where our spending on purchasing power parity was calculated. Last year, the United States had, in my opinion, already 968 billion dollars, and if you add up Russian and Chinese expenditures, then the figures are roughly equal-–Russian and Chinese together, if you compare them with American ones.

First, we need to calculate all this. Calculations of the British center; this may be correct, or it may not be very correct or completely incorrect, you need to look at it. First.

Second. I can't comment in any way 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 negotiate with the United States, and we don't mind. I think the idea is good: the United States would cut by 50 percent, and we would cut by 50 percent. and the People's Republic of China would then join if it wants to. We believe that the proposal is good and we are ready to discuss it.

Pavel Zarubin: Trump also imposed tariffs on 25 percent of steel and aluminum imports from all countries. And we once worked well with the United States on the topic of aluminum. How do you like this trade policy?

Vladimir Putin: Right now I don't want to comment on the trade policy of the United States, which has been linked to sanctions for many years. We consider these sanctions illegal and harmful for world trade and the economy. And it, in my opinion, damages both us and those who impose these sanctions.

And as for trade policy, increased rates, duties, and so on: it is each country that determines independently what is profitable and what is unprofitable for it. I can understand the logic-–to drag production to myself, create jobs, force taxes to be paid to all levels of the tax system, and so on. But at some stage, of course, these actions will face certain difficulties associated with inflationary pressures, with an increase in the cost of goods, and so on. But experts know this, and they will tell you in detail.

As for aluminum, in 2017, in my opinion, we supplied about 15 percent of all American imports–-about 15 percent came from Russia. In general, the United States, if my memory serves me correctly, produces about 60 percent of the necessary aluminum itself, while 40 percent is imported. Here 15 percent came from the Russian Federation. The main importer today is Canada.

If a decision is made to open the American market to our producers, we could sell about 2 million tons on the American market. This would not significantly affect the price formation, but, in my opinion, it would still have a restraining effect on price stabilization.

In addition, and what is most important, in my opinion, is that we could think together with American companies about working together in this area. For example, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, back in Soviet times, there were plans to build a new hydroelectric power station and create additional aluminum production facilities. After all, aluminum is, first of all, energy, and preferably cheap energy. Hydroelectric power is cheap, and among other things, it is also environmentally friendly.

That is why, I repeat, there are such plans since the Soviet era, but these are capital-intensive, investment-intensive projects: according to preliminary estimates, it cost or will cost about $15 billion at today's prices. We can think about it.

Yes, the policy of the current President today is to place production on the territory of the United States. But if American companies work for us, this is also a benefit, and a considerable one, because both companies will earn decent money, and the corresponding volumes of aluminum will be supplied to the domestic market at absolutely acceptable market prices. There is much to think about here, as well as joint work on rare and rare-earth metals, and in other areas, including, for example, energy.

Pavel Zarubin: By the way, a few minutes ago I read another piece of news from the United States: President Trump said that the United States and Russia are discussing major economic projects in the framework of negotiations on Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, some of our companies are in contact with each other and discuss such projects.

Pavel Zarubin: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. [My Emphasis]

Putin is dangling carrots in front of Trump. But today in Trump’s meeting with Macron and at the following presser he again stepped on a rake. I reported this news posted by Dr. Gilbert Doctorow at MoA about an hour ago:

Indeed, and judging from what I heard in the televised press conference of Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump in Washington earlier today, the road to peace just got that much longer and more problematic due to Trump’s seeming acceptance of the latest French suggestions about a European peace-keeping force to be deployed in Ukraine with unspecified back-up from the Americans.

The underlying assumptions stated clearly by Macron are unworkable because they cannot and will not be accepted by the Russian side. It is precisely the Minsk 3.0 formula that Moscow has denounced.

Here’s my commentary to the above: “And there's more. So far Doctorow reports there's been no official reaction; he thinks one or several will appear tomorrow. Trump's words today show why Russia sees the Outlaw US Empire as agreement incapable because it has less than zero credibility. Trump might say tomorrow that he was merely telling Macron what he wanted to hear, but that excuse worsens the situation. The Riyadh meeting was to begin a series of confidence building actions by both sides. Trump just undermined all that today.”

Were Trump’s words based on “emotions”? I wonder how Russians will feel about having the Outlaw US Empire that has spent 11 years at war with their nation becoming a partner in some very key, strategic, undertakings that as Putin has stated are vital to Russia’s security and its future. IMO, the reaction will be mixed and likely heated. Will the economic carrots be seen correctly or will reaction to Trump/Macron drown all that out?

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