 "Will respect Ukraine vote: Putin")
Addressing an economic forum haunted by the prospect of more sanctions against Russia, President Vladimir V Putin on Friday gave his clearest indication yet that he would work with the winner of this weekend's presidential election in Ukraine.
Putin repeatedly said he hoped that the conflict in Ukraine would calm, that Russia would continue to play a significant part in the affairs of its "sister nation," and that it would support a negotiated settlement.
"We want peace and calm in Ukraine," Putin told the gathering of business executives at the Global CEO Summit, which is part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "We are interested that on our western borders we have peace and calm in Ukraine. We are today working with the people in power, and after the election we will work with the newly elected structure."
Putin stopped short of saying he would recognise the vote as legitimate, and reiterated his assertion that the government in the capital, Kiev, which is organising the vote, had usurped the power of President Victor F Yanukovych in a coup. The election will not represent a "general national mandate," he said.
But Russia will "respect the choice of the Ukrainian people," Putin said. "We understand and see that people in Ukraine want to get out of this situation." On the direct question of whether Russia will accept the outcome, Mr. Putin said, "We will watch what will happen."
Putin spoke at a business forum where Russian officials traditionally woo foreign investment, and where corporate and finance officials conceded that the Russian economy was stalling from the uncertainty created by American and European Union sanctions. Putin used the platform to highlight the Russian view of the unfolding crisis. When the European Union proposed an association agreement with Ukraine that was to have been signed last November, Putin said the Russians were told that it was "none of our business."
"I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I haven't seen such a snobbish attitude in years," he said, reaping laughter and applause from his audience each time he mocked the United States or demanded that Ukraine pay Russia the roughly $3.5 billion he said the country owes Russia for natural gas. "Where's our money?" he asked at one point.
During the speech and subsequent questions, lasting about an hour and a half, Putin veered between conciliatory remarks and repetition of the more virulent charges against Ukraine, the US and the European Union that are common in the Russian news media. "A civil war is raging in Ukraine," Putin said. The sanctions directed against Russia, which he called "unfair and illegal," will not end it, he said. "Why are we the ones being blamed for this?"
Yet, by the end of day on Friday, the investors who were Putin's audience read into his comments a conciliatory tone, and the latest hint of several lately that Russia will in the end accept the new government in Kiev, which was ushered in by the Independence Square protests of last winter, winding down the long story of revolution and war in Ukraine. After he spoke, the rouble rose one per cent against the dollar at closing.
In the question-and-answer period, Putin brushed aside a question about American accusations that he had dissembled about Ukraine, a reference to the masked "green men" in Crimea who Russia initially denied were Russian soldiers.
If President Obama wants to be a judge of others, he should work in a court, Putin said.
Putin noted Russia had not interrupted the delivery of US military cargo shipped overland and by air across Russia to troops in Afghanistan, that Russia and the US still shared intelligence on terrorism, and that just this week he had relayed to the Iranian leadership American concerns about that country's nuclear programme.
In the speech, his main economic policy address of the year, Putin formulated a strategy to pull the country out of near recession by prioritising trade with China and encouraging Russian companies to produce substitutes for imported goods, a well-worn idea in Russian policy. A plan to finance companies cut off from Western banks using state-backed funds showed that Putin had come down on the side of an isolationist strain in Russian economic policy thinking. Cities and regions will be encouraged to buy domestically made goods, he said.
Putin repeatedly said he hoped that the conflict in Ukraine would calm, that Russia would continue to play a significant part in the affairs of its "sister nation," and that it would support a negotiated settlement.
"We want peace and calm in Ukraine," Putin told the gathering of business executives at the Global CEO Summit, which is part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "We are interested that on our western borders we have peace and calm in Ukraine. We are today working with the people in power, and after the election we will work with the newly elected structure."
Putin stopped short of saying he would recognise the vote as legitimate, and reiterated his assertion that the government in the capital, Kiev, which is organising the vote, had usurped the power of President Victor F Yanukovych in a coup. The election will not represent a "general national mandate," he said.
But Russia will "respect the choice of the Ukrainian people," Putin said. "We understand and see that people in Ukraine want to get out of this situation." On the direct question of whether Russia will accept the outcome, Mr. Putin said, "We will watch what will happen."
Putin spoke at a business forum where Russian officials traditionally woo foreign investment, and where corporate and finance officials conceded that the Russian economy was stalling from the uncertainty created by American and European Union sanctions. Putin used the platform to highlight the Russian view of the unfolding crisis. When the European Union proposed an association agreement with Ukraine that was to have been signed last November, Putin said the Russians were told that it was "none of our business."
"I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I haven't seen such a snobbish attitude in years," he said, reaping laughter and applause from his audience each time he mocked the United States or demanded that Ukraine pay Russia the roughly $3.5 billion he said the country owes Russia for natural gas. "Where's our money?" he asked at one point.
During the speech and subsequent questions, lasting about an hour and a half, Putin veered between conciliatory remarks and repetition of the more virulent charges against Ukraine, the US and the European Union that are common in the Russian news media. "A civil war is raging in Ukraine," Putin said. The sanctions directed against Russia, which he called "unfair and illegal," will not end it, he said. "Why are we the ones being blamed for this?"
Yet, by the end of day on Friday, the investors who were Putin's audience read into his comments a conciliatory tone, and the latest hint of several lately that Russia will in the end accept the new government in Kiev, which was ushered in by the Independence Square protests of last winter, winding down the long story of revolution and war in Ukraine. After he spoke, the rouble rose one per cent against the dollar at closing.
In the question-and-answer period, Putin brushed aside a question about American accusations that he had dissembled about Ukraine, a reference to the masked "green men" in Crimea who Russia initially denied were Russian soldiers.
If President Obama wants to be a judge of others, he should work in a court, Putin said.
Putin noted Russia had not interrupted the delivery of US military cargo shipped overland and by air across Russia to troops in Afghanistan, that Russia and the US still shared intelligence on terrorism, and that just this week he had relayed to the Iranian leadership American concerns about that country's nuclear programme.
In the speech, his main economic policy address of the year, Putin formulated a strategy to pull the country out of near recession by prioritising trade with China and encouraging Russian companies to produce substitutes for imported goods, a well-worn idea in Russian policy. A plan to finance companies cut off from Western banks using state-backed funds showed that Putin had come down on the side of an isolationist strain in Russian economic policy thinking. Cities and regions will be encouraged to buy domestically made goods, he said.
© 2014 The New York Times News Service