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“Nothing good comes from abroad,” said Russian President Putin, whose annual press conference has traditionally lasted hours and yet has traditionally said nothing good about the rest of the world.
The Kremlin head has once again denied that the Russian secret services were involved in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. If they had participated, “they would have ended things,” Putin said at his traditional annual press conference. He assured that Navalny had the support of the US secret services. Once you had access to sensitive materials, it would be natural for Russian services to monitor you. “But that does not mean that he should have been poisoned,” Putin said.
The president cited articles that said a Russian national FSB assassin squad, including nerve agents, had been dispatched to deal with a prominent Kremlin critic. Investigations by many media outlets, including CNN and SPIEGEL, were not revelations, but only confirmation of information provided by the US secret services. This time, as in the past, Putin avoided calling Navalny by name and simply calling him “the patient of a Berlin clinic.” After the poisoning, Navalny was admitted to Germany for treatment.
According to the results of analyzes from three European laboratories and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, in August the opposition politician and critic of Putin came into contact with a nerve agent like Novichok. He almost died from the effects of the poisoning.
For Belarus: “This is interference”
At his annual press conference, the Russian head of state usually touched on many topics. This time, the anti-Western rhetoric was heard not only in relation to the Navalny case. Putin also criticized this kind of fighting for months in Belarus. “Nothing good comes from the West, and what we see there is interference.” The opposition was supported politically and financially. “It is necessary to give the Belarusian people the opportunity to solve their own problems.”
Russia is also outraged by the EU sanctions against political leaders in Belarus, due to police violence against protesters. They demand the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, for whom this is his sixth term, and Putin has assured that he will send parts of the Russian Interior Ministry to the neighboring country if he so wishes.
Support for Donbass
Moscow also provides support to separatists in eastern Ukraine. “We have supported Donbass and we will even expand our support.” This affects industry, infrastructure and the solution of social problems. Putin personally blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the lack of progress in the conflict. He warned Kiev not to unilaterally change the peace plan contained in the 2015 Minsk agreement. Parts of eastern Ukraine have been controlled by pro-Russian rebels since 2014. The Ukrainian government accuses Moscow of supporting separatists and the United Nations estimates that more than 13,000 people died in the fighting.
As for relations with the United States, the Russian president expects, in his own words, improvements since the inauguration of the newly elected president Joe Biden. He had experience in both domestic and foreign policy, so Putin suggested that some of the existing problems could be solved under the new government.
“I have the permission of the people”
Putin has once again rejected allegations that Russia influenced the results of the 2016 US presidential elections. But he expected outside interference in Russia’s parliamentary elections next year.
The question of whether he himself will run for president again in three years has not received a concrete answer. “But I have formally the permission of the people.” In early July, Putin received approval from a referendum on proposed constitutional changes that would allow him to run for a fifth and sixth term in 2024 and 2030.
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