Keir Simmons from NBC conducted an exclusive interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The interview, which is Putin’s first with an American network in about three years, comes as the Russian premier prepares for his summit with American President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Military Cooperation with Iran
Putin denied reports suggesting that Russia intends to supply Iran with satellite technology that will enhance Tehran’s ability to target military facilities. While dismissing the reports as “fake news,” he admitted that Russia plans to bolster its technical and military cooperation with Iran. However, he clarified that this cooperation will be guided by the provisions of the United Nations and the JCPOA.
Upcoming Summit with Joe Biden
Speaking of the upcoming summit with President Joe Biden, Putin said that seeing as US-Russia relations have witnessed a downfall, the summit could help in the “identification and determination of mutual points” so issues of “mutual interest” can be addressed. Putin added that he was prepared for “joint work” on issues and differences that are likely to come up during the summit. The Russian President also showed a willingness to engage in talks on arms control.
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Putin then criticized NATO, which he described as a “Cold War relic” that doesn’t need to exist today. However, he extended his support to the G7 meeting conducted over the weekend. He added that this could be a “sign of respect” to America’s allies in the run-up to the Russia-United States (US) summit.
Cyberattacks
Following this, Simmons asked Putin to comment on accusations suggesting that Russia was involved in “alleged state-sponsored cyber-attacks,” including meddling in the 2016 US elections. The Russian premier dismissed the claim as one without any evidence and as a “conversation with no subject.” Instead, he called for the US and Russia to agree on jointly working in cyberspace and “structure counter-efforts.” Putin said he had presented this as a proposal to the Obama and Trump administrations. However, it did not materialise into actual negotiations.
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Putin also spoke of NATO’s statement suggesting that cyberspace is considered a battlefield and an area of military action. He said like space militarisation; he opposed the idea of cyberspace militarization too. Instead, Putin proposed working with American partners to prevent illegal activities of cybercriminals. He highlighted the dependency on digital technologies, which, in turn, results in potential interference causing immense damage and losses. Putin stressed that it was crucial to discuss combining technology and resources and combating crimes in cyberspace.
Alexei Navalny
Simmons then addressed the alleged assassination attempt on Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and the recent Russian court judgement banning his organisations. Putin said the ban on the organisations was justified, since the members of the “so-called civil society” were funded abroad. He said this threatened interference in Russia’s domestic matters, resulting in reciprocal laws. He also clarified that he had not ordered the assassination of Alexei Navalny.
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On being asked whether he can assure that Navalny would leave prison alive, Putin said such decisions are left for the court to decide. However, he highlighted that Russian authorities will ensure access to medical facilities and healthcare for all prisoners.
Belarus and Ukraine
While speaking of the incident in which a commercial aircraft was forced to land in Minsk, Putin said he had not received any information about the airliners landing and the journalist’s arrest in advance.
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As for the military build-up in Ukraine, Putin clarified that bringing personnel and military equipment to the conflict area was started by the Ukrainian side and Russia’s actions were merely a response to it. He added that all the exercises were conducted in Russian territory and should not be a cause of concern for the US or Ukraine.
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China
Simmons questioned why Russia was not concerned about China’s growing military capacity and its unwillingness to engage in arms control talks. Putin said China and Russia had established a strategic partnership, driven by trust and cooperation in several areas, including politics, trade, technology, military and technical cooperation. Hence, he said that China was not viewed as a threat to Russia.
The upcoming Putin-Biden meeting is likely to address a large number of these issues too. Amid animosities, this highly anticipated summit might define future diplomatic relations between both countries.
Watch the full interview here