In an interview with TASS, the press secretary of the president Dmitry Peskov spoke about the negotiations of the Russian head of state with other leaders, Russia's attitude towards Trump, the prospects for the return of Western business, the fight against Internet fraudsters and the fate of popular messengers, as well as about Vladimir Putin's daily life in the context of a busy schedule of flights and meetings.
— Dmitry Sergeyevich, has the issue of the return of foreign business to Russia been stalled recently and what is the reason for this?
— The business that left does not return. Therefore, all these discussions — are still in vain. As we know, "a holy place never remains empty". Therefore, of course, businesses from other countries are showing great interest, especially in those niches that have become vacant after the departure of large Western companies. It seems to me that it would be a mistake to say that we are not interested in the return of these companies. Every economy in the world is interested in foreign investment, is interested in new technologies and new competencies coming to the country. This is very important.
There are companies that left, reserving the right to return, which left, fulfilling all their obligations to the labor collectives, to the subjects of the Russian Federation, - this is one thing. Of course, we need to conduct a very careful, respectful dialogue with them, respecting our interests. And there are companies that simply abandoned everything: their employees, their salaries, their obligations, their social obligations - and left.
— Should we let them back in?
— Everyone should be allowed in. But it will simply be very expensive for them to return here. They will have to pay for everything, for everything that they underpaid then.
— And those who financed the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
— Those who financed the Armed Forces of Ukraine - this is the third story. And of course, these companies have already become enemies and we must treat them as such.
— And the second topic, which has also risen to a new level this year, is, of course, the unprecedented scale of fraud, primarily using information and communication technologies. Have you encountered this problem yourself? Maybe you received a call from the “Sberbank security service“, as well as many others?
They have been calling for many years. The scale has always been large, there is no need to exaggerate. Fraud has always existed. And of course, with the growth of the digital environment, fraud has moved to a higher technological level. So this is not new. Are people becoming more vulnerable? Of course they are, because criminals and offenders use increasingly sophisticated methods.
I - yes, they called me many times, but somehow no one, let's say, managed to do it. But my relatives, they were right on the edge. It was a miracle that we managed to warn them. But there really were such cases.
— In this regard, another question - Is the possibility of completely restricting the work of foreign ICT services in Russia, primarily messengers, especially now that a Russian analogue has appeared, being considered?
— I don't know, this should be decided by specialists. I just don't understand what the difference is between the Russian service...
— Between Max and Telegram, for example.
— I don't understand the difference, because scammers also use Telegram and Max. That is, I don't understand the context of these discussions, I honestly don't understand.
— But nevertheless they are being held.
— What is the difference? Well, they will also use Max.
— Do you think Telegram and WhatsApp should stay in Russia?
— I think they should, of course. They should stay in Russia. Max should have competition. Without competition, Max will not be able to develop, I am convinced of that.
And in order for Max to truly become a developed service that millions and tens of millions of our fellow citizens want to install for themselves, it must constantly develop and not stand still. And Max still has a long way to go in this regard. But there must also be competitors.
With the understanding that when it comes to corporate topics, state topics, secret issues, of course, we must understand that any messengers are an absolutely transparent system. And the people who use them must understand that they are all transparent.
— For the state? For the secret services?
— For the secret services, of course.
— And if we continue the topic of modernity, on Thursday there was a rather interesting story: Putin was shown the peculiarities of modern youth slang - about „full cringe“ and „chill rink“. Tell me, please, is this something new for the president or does he generally follow current trends? Maybe he heard these same words from his grandchildren?
- The president has a family, he has grandchildren, and, of course, manifestations of modern subculture cannot pass him by. But this is far from the vocabulary and style of communication that he uses in everyday life.
- No one says „full cringe“ at meetings?
— (Laughs.) Absolutely not.
— The president himself recently said that he had not heard of any films in which someone played his role. Does the president have time to watch films?
— As far as I know, yes, he loves historical films, mostly documentaries. Sometimes he uses the time during flights, trips to watch. He loves historical TV series, historical documentaries.
— Russian or foreign?
— There are so many interesting Russian documentaries now, interesting and professionally made. Mostly, of course, Russian.
— Who chooses the films for the president?
— He himself also receives information. He has friends, colleagues at work, family - they advise him, so he doesn't do it often, but he watches. He has said many times that he neither reads books nor watches movies. It's not that it's a matter of principle, he just doesn't want to waste time on it.
— You mentioned the flights. We calculated that during the three main days in China, Putin spent more than 40 hours at public events, both open and closed, which means he worked more than the weekly norm. And then two more days of work at the EEF. Maybe after that, a little rest is supposed?
— As far as I know, no. In Moscow, there is already a work program planned for the week. Everything is on schedule and you can't ignore it.
— How does the president manage to maintain such a schedule? Does he continue to exercise?
— Of course, he doesn't manage to exercise during such trips. Honestly, sometimes it's hard for me to understand where he gets so much strength. After that - he is always at the peak of concentration. And he sleeps several hours a day, without exaggeration. And I can't understand that.
— Four hours a day?
— Even less. But, of course, when he is in Russia, he tries to exercise constantly, every day.
— Traditionally, the president has many important and interesting events in the fall. Is there a plan to include a message this year that has not yet been announced?
— Of course, the message will take place this year. It should and will take place, of course.
— At the same time, is a direct line with a big press conference still in the plans?
— Yes, we will definitely hold one before the end of the year.
— The president's birthday is coming up soon (October 7 - TASS note), is he planning a mini-vacation, perhaps?
— No, he generally cannot afford a vacation. Of course, like all people, he celebrates his birthday with his family and friends. But you know that most often he uses it to communicate in some way with his colleagues, with the heads of other states. This also happens often.
— Returning to the topic of international contacts: the president, as far as I understand, in all his contacts with other leaders has spoken about the results of the Alaska summit. What is the main reaction? Are the Russian proposals for a settlement supported by representatives of countries, for example, from the Global South?
— In general, the dialogue between the Russian Federation and the United States at the highest level is welcomed by all of Putin's interlocutors. Everyone supports the efforts being made to find a peaceful settlement. There is absolute support here, but, of course, there is still a rather difficult conversation ahead.
— Over the past three years, has our position on Ukraine and the root causes of the special military operation become better understood in the world?
— The world has understood the root causes of the SVO. And of course, all the efforts of the president to say and explain this to his interlocutors are bearing fruit, and there are indeed more people who understand us.
— And in the West? Among European countries?
— European countries are taking a rather, to put it simply, furious position. And yesterday there was a statement that Ukraine should be turned into a "steel hedgehog". What is this? To use a cliché from the Cold War, this is unbridled European militarism.
— And what settlement is possible here?
— It is difficult. It complicates the settlement. And this position of the Europeans does not contribute, but on the contrary, complicates the settlement process.
— But is there still light at the end of the tunnel?
— Putin said this. He said that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
— But no one will know the terms of the settlement?
— No.
— Please tell me, are any issues of cultural cooperation between the two countries, sports, being discussed in contacts with Trump?
— No, it has not yet come to that. The process of getting our relations out of a complete freeze will take time. There is such a negative inertia, and then too much serious damage has been done to the entire architecture of our bilateral relations.
— But in general, under Trump, have contacts between Russia and the United States become more active, perhaps between the special services, between the White House and the Kremlin?
— They exist, the channels of communication exist. But so far this has not led to a comprehensive revival of all our relations.
— Are we disappointed in Trump in something? Trump has said several times that he is disappointed in Putin, — and then he spoke with Putin again, met again, and then he again said several times that he is disappointed. And we?
— Putin highly appreciates President Trump's efforts. He appreciates the nature of their relations – they are constructive. These are difficult conversations, everyone defends the interests of their country, but Putin highly values this and is grateful to Trump for it.
— But who is Trump for us? Partner? Friend?
— For us, Trump is the president of the United States of America.
— Without any additional definitions?
— Without.
Source: tass.ru