Question: Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello.
Olga Knyazeva, Channel One.
The state visit to Kazakhstan is coming to an end. You have been welcomed everywhere at the highest level. How do you assess the prospects for cooperation in the end?
V.Putin: Good. Kazakhstan, as I have said many times, is not just our ally but a reliable partner. It is very important that Kazakhstan is successfully developing under the leadership of President Tokayev Kasym-Zhomart Kemelevich, demonstrating stable and reliable growth. The socio-political situation in the country is stable, which is crucial for planning economic activities and investments.
We have billions in investments in Kazakhstan's economy, I have already mentioned nearly 30 billion in trade turnover, which is constantly growing. Our cooperation has traditionally developed in certain areas. These include space, energy, and, in our times, high technologies. Currently, in energy projects, there is potential to expand cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, as we are already working together. Kazakhstan is the largest producer of uranium in the world, and we are present in uranium deposits in Kazakhstan. In industry, we have good prospects, especially in the field of cooperation.
One of the problems was and partially remains the issue of settlements, but we have already transferred over 80 percent of all transactions to national currencies. This, of course, simplifies our work in the financial sector.
Besides everything else, we also have humanitarian ties; at a human level, the contacts are very good. Kazakhstan is practically a Russian-speaking country, as you probably felt yourself. Unfortunately, there are always many people with their opinions on what should and shouldn't be done, along with their criticism of the processes taking place, both in Russian society and in Kazakhstan. And this position, this criticism does not always align with the interests of states, including the Russian state. It doesn't always serve our benefit. In my opinion, we need to do everything possible to strengthen our ties. But under no circumstances should we take steps that would destroy our relationships.
For instance, in the energy sector, we have traditional matters. Nevertheless, there are very large projects that may arise in transporting our energy resources to third countries through the territory of Kazakhstan. Traditionally, there is a situation where one region of Kazakhstan lacks natural gas, while other territories have an excess. We need to combine our efforts, supply something to Kazakhstan, and receive something from Kazakhstan, given the sufficiently large territory of Kazakhstan itself and our vast areas, which proves to be more advantageous than developing directly on our own territory. Therefore, we are natural partners and allies.
I assess that we have very good prospects for the future. Yesterday, in an informal setting with President Kasym-Zhomart Kemelevich, we discussed these prospects over dinner for the entire evening. I repeat once again: I assess them as extremely positive.
Question: Good afternoon. Channel "Russia", Alexey Golovko.
You have already mentioned uranium. However, in Kazakhstan, a referendum was held this October, where the overwhelming majority of citizens expressed support for the construction of a nuclear power plant. As far as we know, the contractor has not yet been chosen. Did you specifically address this topic in your conversation with Mr. Tokayev? Perhaps you highlighted the advantages of "Rosatom"? Thank you.
V.Putin: Yes, of course. We paid quite a bit of attention to this during the negotiations yesterday in both narrow and broad formats. Kazakhstan, if it pursues its projects in the field of nuclear energy, is of course entitled, like any customer, to choose the most acceptable technological solutions and financial schemes for itself.
I think it is not by chance that the Russian company "Rosatom" is the largest of its kind in the world, including by the number of nuclear power plants being built abroad. What is this related to? It is because, as I have mentioned repeatedly, we do not just build power plants. We typically create an industry in the country that starts this kind of activity. We train personnel, supply necessary materials, take away spent fuel, and so on, contributing to the development of science in the nuclear field.
And of course, the President of Kazakhstan, our Kazakh colleagues, and friends – for them, this type of activity is not new; they are not starting from scratch. I repeat, we even have enterprises, and they have enterprises for uranium extraction and operations in this field. They are fully aware of what they want, what they are willing to pay for, and what they want to receive. Therefore, we have a very professional conversation. If our partners, in this case in Kazakhstan, have the necessity and desire to apply certain solutions, including technological solutions from third countries, to invite their specialists for joint work – this is also possible, and "Rosatom" has experience in cooperating with foreign partners. We discussed this yesterday as well.
The final decision is always up to the customer. But I believe that our cooperation with Kazakhstan in this direction is quite possible. And it would indeed be strange if Kazakhstan, which has the largest uranium reserves in the world, did not utilize them but only extracted this raw material and simply exported it. This is the position of Kazakhstan's leadership.
Moreover, it is likely that today "Rosatom" operates in 20 countries, or is constructing 20 facilities abroad. Modern technologies are indeed the best in the world for ensuring safety. This has been confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA.
Please.
Question: Nikita Korzun, NTV.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, based on the outcomes of today's summit, how would you assess the state of the CSTO? Is the organization alive or dead? And how do you personally feel about Armenia's "skipping"?
V.Putin: Well, as for the CSTO organization as such, it is certainly not just alive; it is alive and developing, and all countries actively participating in its work are interested in maintaining these contacts now and in the future.
The situation in the world is complex, and it is complicated not only due to the events occurring on the Ukrainian front. Is everything so good in Asia? Do the events on the borders of the Commonwealth with Afghanistan allow us to relax and ignore everything?
Complex processes are taking place in Afghanistan. We hope to build relationships with Afghanistan, and we cannot ignore the fact that the situation there is stabilizing. We have relationships with the current leadership of Afghanistan, and they will develop. Recently, the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, [Sergey] Shoigu, was in Afghanistan and just reported to me on the results. But the situation is still complex and requires our special attention, including from the CSTO.
The CSTO is engaged not only in military matters but also in combating organized crime, drug trafficking, and so on. So the CSTO has plenty to do, and the member countries are interested in this. That is the first point.
Now regarding Armenia's position. Each country has the right to choose what it wants to do in terms of ensuring its security. I think that the current situation between Armenia and the CSTO is most likely dictated by domestic political processes within Armenia itself. And of course, all this is related to the consequences of the crisis in Karabakh. But I want to emphasize that the CSTO is not to blame here. You understand? I have said this many times already. Everything that has happened is unrelated to the CSTO because there was no external aggression against Armenia itself.
The CSTO is designed to protect member countries from external aggression. The events related to Karabakh have their own specifics. After all, Armenia did not recognize Karabakh as an independent state and certainly did not include Karabakh within its state perimeter. Therefore, everything that happened in Karabakh, from a legal point of view, has no direct relation to Armenia. And thus, to claim that the CSTO should have fought on the territory of this enclave is somewhat strange. Isn't it? Right? Of course.
Nevertheless, this is a very sensitive issue. It is always easy to give some assessments from the outside. Inside, everything is always more complicated. I repeat once again, in my opinion, any member country of the organization should determine for itself what corresponds to its national interests. And we will treat this with respect. That is the first point. And the second – Armenia has not declared its withdrawal. At least not yet. It has stated that it is taking a pause, but at the same time, it supports all the documents adopted during our current meeting, the current session of negotiations, and draws our attention specifically to this. If this is the case, then there is a possibility that Armenia will return to full-format work within this organization. We will see.
I repeat once again: the decision ultimately rests with the member country of the organization.
Question: Interfax Agency. Hello.
Regarding energy issues. During the state visit to Kazakhstan, was the topic of increasing oil transit, particularly Kazakh oil, through Russian territory to Germany discussed? If so, what volumes? Naturally, if this can be disclosed.
The second question, accordingly, is about the transit of oil, but now Russian oil, through Kazakhstan to China.
These are the two topics.
V.Putin: