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Putin holds annual end-of-year news conference

Thursday, 19 December 2019 10:01 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 19 December 2019 10:07 PM ]

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Marina Kortunova
Press TV, Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday where he took questions from Russian and foreign correspondents.

The televised presser lasted more than four hours. Record number of journalists attended Vladimir Putin’s annual marathon press conference. The Russian president answered questions on various issues about his domestic and foreign policies.

There were few questions on foreign policy and they mainly revolved around Russia-US relations.

The Russian president said that Moscow is interested in developing relations with the United States regardless of who is in the White House or who controls both chambers of Congress. He also discussed nuclear arms control, saying Russia is ready to extend the new start treaty.

Putin also warned about the inevitability of an arms race if Moscow and Washington failed to renew the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

He slammed the US for withdrawing from the agreement in February and ignoring Russian proposals for a replacement.

In contrast, president Putin hailed relations with Beijing adding that the US no longer has the power to dictate terms to other countries.

Elsewhere Putin touched on the sanctions approved by the US Congress on December 17 against companies constructing the Russian Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.

The pipeline is expected to increase the volume of gas transferred from Russia to Europe, bypassing Ukraine.

The marathon presser also saw the Russian president answer questions about presidential term limits, climate change, Donald Trump’s impeachment, Boris Johnson’s election victory in the UK, and Russia’s doping scandal among other things.

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