In St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) welcomed executives from some of the world’s leading news agencies to the Lakhta Center.
Threats against countries supplying arms to Ukraine
Putin praised the United States and some European countries for allowing weapons provided to Ukraine to be used on Russian territory.
“What is the role of the Ukrainian military here? They set targets. However, they do not decide whether these targets will be attacked,” Putin said. “The Ministry of Defence does this for ATACMS, the UK does this for Storm Shadow,” he said.
Putin stressed that Russia would respond “asymmetrically” to any attack in question, saying: “We will assess this. Of course, we will first develop our air defense systems. Russia has the right to send long-range weapons to the area to strike sensitive targets in countries that supply weapons to Ukraine,” he said.
“We are aware that President Erdogan is making effective efforts to resolve the issue.”
Putin was quoted as saying by AA editor-in-chief Ozan that “within the scope of the economic forum, I would like to continue the question that I posed to you all three years ago.” With regard to the Israeli attack in Gaza, we see that millions of people around the world are taking to the streets in the United States, Europe and many other places, calling on their governments to find a solution to this problem. Does Russia have a plan on this issue? In response to the question: “Is he going to take the lead within the UN Security Council?”
“What is happening now in Gaza does not look like a war. It looks like the total destruction of civilians,” Putin said.
Putin blamed the United States for what happened in Gaza, saying, “We believe this is the result of US policy. He monopolized the settlement process. “They ignored all previously established tools for a collective attempt to resolve this very difficult problem,” he said.
Putin noted that the US administration may have taken a “less opinion, more rapid solution” approach regarding Gaza, “but it was seen as not being the case in practice. Material handouts alone will not solve the problem. The truth of the matter is that the political problem needs to be solved. This is the creation of two states, as envisaged in the UN decision to establish two states on these lands: a Palestinian state and a Jewish state,” he said.
Putin stressed that it was impossible to resolve the situation without addressing the underlying issues at stake, saying: “We have known about the Palestinian state for a long time, since the Soviet era. In this context, our approach has not changed.”
Putin stressed that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made great efforts to resolve the issue and said:
“We are aware of President Erdogan’s effective efforts to resolve this very urgent and long-standing issue. Given President Erdogan’s authority in the region, the world and the Islamic world, we expect his contribution to be notable. “For our part, given our long-standing ties with Israel, Russia is ready to do whatever it takes to resolve this situation.”
Energy development and commercial cooperation with Turkey
Putin also touched on economic ties between Turkey and Russia, stressing that construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is progressing as scheduled.
Putin said many Turkish experts worked on the project and that the Akkuyu nuclear plant had opened up new territory for Turkey’s economy and energy sector.
Putin shared Erdogan’s view that Turkey had made a strategic decision about the Akyu nuclear power plant, saying “in addition to its many advantages, it also reduces our dependence on hydrocarbon resources. We are building reliable cooperation in this area as well,” he said.
Stating that the natural gas center to be established in Turkey will be an electronic platform for gas trading, especially to Europe, Putin said:
“I would like to draw your attention to something. Turkey is cooperating with Ukraine in some areas, but Ukraine is trying to attack the pipeline that brings gas to Turkey. This is not a joke or an exaggeration. Two drones were shot down by Russian military electronic warfare systems and crashed near a gas pumping station on the Black Sea coast. Please inform our friend President Erdogan of the facts of this matter. “Attacks by drone vessels against ships guarding the transport system on the bottom of the Black Sea are taking place constantly.”
Noting the improving commercial relations with Turkey and the volume of trade between the two countries, Putin said, “It seems to me that Ankara’s economic bloc has recently placed a strong emphasis on receiving loans, investments and subsidies from Turkey, especially from Western financial institutions. This is probably not a bad thing, but if this is coupled with restrictions on trade and economic relations with Russia, the Turkish economy will have more to lose than to gain. “In my opinion, such a threat exists,” he said in his assessment.
