Meeting with Acting Head of the Lugansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik
Vladimir Putin held a working meeting at the Kremlin with Acting Head of the Lugansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik.
August 23, 2023
01:00
The Kremlin, Moscow
chansk, Rubezhnoye and Kremennaya. We are helping people, understanding their difficult situation and trying to provide them with at least bearable living conditions.
I want to emphasise, absolutely sincerely, that, surely, Donbass has not seen this amount of care and goodwill since Soviet times.
The republic is transforming in front of our eyes. People have noticed this and the changes are having a positive effect on the social wellbeing of local residents.
To summarise, I want to say that history must be teaching us another lesson because today, we are recovering, and our unity is making us stronger and wiser.
I am certain that there are no tasks that we could not accomplish together. I am certain that we will achieve all our goals. I want to assure you that the Lugansk People's Republic has a team that can do its work well. We may lack some professionalism or knowledge of the nuances of Russian law, but our people are true patriots who are used to working hard. And we can fulfil all the tasks set by you, the Government and our local administration.
We will certainly overcome the challenges of history today and further ahead.
Vladimir Putin: Of course, all the goals you mentioned cannot be achieved before solving the main problem - ensuring security. Now, as you can see, the situation on the line of contact is stable. Moreover, I take an occasional look at what the other side is doing and I get the impression that they are sending their people into minefields, under our artillery strikes as if they were not their own - as if they were not their citizens at all. It is amazing. It is their business and their problem of course, and as for our problems, we certainly need to think about restoring the economy and the social sphere on a solid security foundation.
And actually... Yes, I do see that you are growing and restoring industry, but this is recovery, and we need to ensure that the economy recovers, that this goal is achieved, and then you can move on.
As to the social situation, economically, too, I would say the main problem is that people's incomes remain modest, to put it mildly, while prices are rising.
There are very obvious issues such as the need to restore housing, public services, communications, engineering networks, utilities, and so on. But these are regular everyday issues, as they say, and I am sure that your team will be able to solve them.
Still, I know that in the days of old - I mean, until recently, you never used to work on purely economic and administrative issues. Your job was security, but things have changed of late, and you and your team are trying your best to address the problems facing the republic now and ensure that these problems are resolved. And I see that, on the whole, you are doing well.
You certainly need to keep in touch with the people directly, receive their feedback; we are trying to arrange this in every region across the country, but it is all the more important in your region because the situation is complicated enough and requires people to stay focused and ready for serious work. And I see from the past few months' results, even the past 18 months, that your people are certainly talented.
Leonid Pasechnik: Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: And I just know that not one of them is expecting any handouts, no one is going cap in hand - everyone is ready to work, and they want to work, and they know how to work. We will certainly do everything we can to promote this positive process and very positive attitude. We just need to support people.
The issues concerning Russian laws are important, but not a top priority. The region certainly needs to fully integrate into Russia's legal system, but most importantly, you need to establish good cooperation with government agencies so that we can work together to integrate the Lugansk People's Republic into the projects that are funded from Russia, so that we will be able to achieve the same goals in the Lugansk Republic as in the country as a whole. And gradually, there is no doubt, we will solve many problems for the benefit of the people who live there.
As for the upcoming elections - I know it will not be easy to organise the voting in your situation, but with the support of the federal centre, I am sure you will do it, I have no doubts. But most importantly, in any election campaign it is essential to show the people that your entire team is ready to solve their problems and can do it, acting in the best interests of the people who live in the region. All the more so since, I have seen some statistics on people returning, that is, you have a positive migration inflow.
Therefore, I certainly wish you all the very best, and we will definitely help.
Leonid Pasechnik: Thank you very much, Mr President.
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