Putin Talks Ukraine, Defense, NATO and Trump Meeting at Post-Belarus Summit Press Call
20250627
President Putin concluded his visit to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit in Belarus on Friday, meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Uzbekistan's president and speaking with journalists.
Meeting With Trump Possible, Russia Open to Contacts
"I am always open to contacts and meetings. I know that Mr. Trump also talked about the possibility of meetings. I, like him, believe that such meetings should be prepared. Based on the results, we must reach new frontiers of cooperation," Putin told reporters.
Putin emphasized that he has great respect for Trump.
"I treat the current president of the United States with great respect, he has gone through a very difficult, difficult and unsafe path of returning to power and the White House," Putin said.
"In general, thanks to President Trump, relations between Russia and the United States are beginning to level out in some ways. Not everything has been resolved in the field of diplomatic relations, but nevertheless the first steps have been taken. We are moving on," Putin added.
The Russian side will be happy to prepare a meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States, Putin said.
Russia and the United States have good prospects for economic cooperation, Putin said, pointing out that working contacts have been established between the foreign ministries and special services of the two countries.
Putin Grateful to Trump For Diplomatic Efforts
"What he is doing inside the country, what he is doing regarding the situation in the Middle East, and his efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis — we, of course, appreciate it all very much. And I have already said this, I want to say publicly now that President Trump sincerely seeks to resolve the issue" as far as the Ukrainian crisis is concerned, Putin said.
West's Defense Spending Boost Signals Aggressiveness
The militaristic ideas of the West are based on the false premise of Russian aggression, Putin said, commenting on NATO's military buildup efforts.
"Against the background of this rhetoric about Russia's alleged aggression, they are beginning to talk about the need to arm themselves. Well, let them arm themselves, let us look at the structure of these costs, the structure of these weapons...We consider the reference to Russia's 'aggressiveness' to be completely unfounded. It is not us that are aggressive, but this so-called collective aggressive West," Putin told reporters.
"As for the armed forces, we are constantly being told that we have some kind of problems, that Russia will soon suffer a strategic defeat...And at the same time, they are broadcasting that we are going to attack NATO countries. Where is the logic? If everything is falling apart, why are we going to attack NATO? Well, they are talking nonsense and they definitely do not believe it themselves, but they are trying to convince their people in order to squeeze more money out of them so that they agree to bear the heavy burden of these expenses," Putin said.
The president added that the West supported the coup in Ukraine and then started talking about alleged Russia's aggression, noting that they are either fools themselves or take Russians for fools.
New EU Sanctions Won't Impact Russia
"Whether there will be any harm for us, we will see, based on the realities that will develop, but I do not think that it will have a significant impact on us," Putin said, commenting on Brussels' latest package of anti-Russia restrictions.
Countries that impose sanctions against Russia are making things worse for themselves with each new barrage, Putin added.
Commenting on Western countries' attempts to "bury" Russia's economy, Putin said that they will "die" sooner themselves than "bury" Russia.
Economic Issues
Russia is working toward creating a healthy macroeconomic climate even amid heightened defense spending, according to Putin.
"From the financial and economic point of view, say, during the Korean War, which the United States fought, it spent 14% of the budget on this [defense expenditures], And during the Vietnam War - 10%. However, these problems were solved mainly with increasing taxation on people with high incomes. Moreover, in the first case, they did not pay attention to macroeconomics, in the second they already treated it more sensibly. But we are fighting for it. For healthy macroeconomics," he said.
The rates of growth of the gross domestic product in Russia in 2025 will be more modest than previous years. This is a targeted measure, aimed at fighting inflation, Putin said.
"Here we have 4.3% economic growth last year, [in 2023] - 4.1%. This year will be much more modest in order to fight inflation. But we do it on purpose," he assured.
At the same time, the leading economies and industrial centers of Europe, Germany and France, are on the verge of recession, Putin pointed out.
Russia's Defense Spending Amounts to 6.3% of GDP
Russia's defense spending of 13.5 trillion rubles ($172 billion) is a lot, and the country has paid the price for it with inflation, but it is tackling the problem, Putin said.
"6.3% of Russia's GDP is devoted to defense needs, which is 13.5 trillion rubles. And our entire GDP is 223 trillion rubles. Is 13.5 out of 223 a lot or a little? Quite a lot. We've paid for this with inflation, but we are now fighting this inflation. Yes, we are purposefully trying to ensure that the economy makes a soft landing in some way. But, nevertheless, we are still very sensible about this," Putin told reporters.
Search for End to Ukraine Crisis
Russia wants to end the special military operation with a result the country needs, Putin said.
"Europe is thinking about how to raise its defense spending. So who is preparing for some kind of aggressive actions — us or them? We want to end the special military operation with the result we need, of course, but that is what it is all about. It is for this, and not for aggressive plans towards Europe and NATO countries. We plan to reduce costs, and they plan to increase them. So who is being aggressive?" he asked.
EEU Economies Growing Faster Than Global Average
The growth rates of the Eurasian Economic Union economies are higher than the global average due to the joint work of the participating countries, Putin pointed out.
"Within the EEU, it is higher than the average global rate. The global growth is 3.3%, as is known. And within the EEU, it is more than 4%, much higher. And in some countries, it is significantly higher, there is even 5%, and, in my opinion, some [countries] are approaching almost 6%," he noted.
Putin added that the level of investment in Russia was increasing despite known difficulties.
West Will Not Be Able to Shut Out Russian Oil Supply
The West will not be able to shut the supply of Russian oil, the volume of its consumption in the world is growing, Putin said.
"They will not be able to do this [to shut Russian oil supplies], it is simply impossible today. The volume of oil and petroleum products consumed in the world is growing due to the growth of the economy itself. There is no getting away from this," Putin told reporters.
© Sputnik
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