Transcript of Putin's Press Conference

[Moderator] The seventh row please.
 

NATO expansion

[Question] Edward Lucas, correspondent from the English journal The Economist. Mr President, I would like to ask a very short question. This is your first full news conference, and I hope very much that it will not be the last. Can you say that you will meet with us several times a year? And the second, more weighty question: you have spoken out against NATO expansion many times, and I don't think you need to repeat your position, we have heard it many times. But what we don't understand is what does "equivalent response" really mean? We have heard many times that Russia will give an "equivalent response" if NATO takes this step. Can you tell us more specifically how Russia could react to expansion?

[Putin] I personally have never spoken of an "equivalent response" to NATO's possible expansion. Please ask that question directly of those who used those words to describe the Russian Federation's position. I never put our position in those words. All I can tell you is that we do not view NATO as a hostile organization and do not see its existence as a tragedy - although we don't see the need for it either. It was born as a counterweight to the Warsaw Pact, or in any case as a counterweight to the Soviet Union's hegemony in Eastern Europe.

Now there is no more Warsaw pact or Soviet Union, but NATO still exists and is developing successfully. When we are told that it is a political organization, that it is transforming from a military alliance into a political organization, then of course we start to ask questions. Why did they bomb Yugoslavia? Is that what political organizations do? Who did that? A military organization did it, and that does not make us happy.

Well, another thesis. The destruction [changes tack] We hear all the time that everybody wants to destroy some kind of barriers and borders in Europe. We are also in favour of this. But let's just stop and think what it means to destroy borders and barriers. Let's think about what it is. If it means to move this barrier towards the Russian borders, we are not very impressed. Yes, those who will be included in this common space, will have no borders, but borders still appear in front of us. This leads to various levels of security on the continent, and I think it does not correspond to the reality of today and is not prompted by any political or military necessities. What's more, I can confidently tell you that we will not achieve unity in Europe if we fail to create a single area of security and defence.

Various options are possible here. The simplest of them is to disband NATO. But there is no such question on the agenda. The second possible option - and I am not saying we would like this option, I am speaking merely theoretically - the second possible option is to include Russia in NATO. This also creates a single area of defence security. The third option is to form another, new organization with these tasks and which Russia would be incorporated into. This option is also possible in general. These [changes tack] this task was, in principle, put to the OSCE, but today those who are not really in favour of the creation of a single basis, a single area of security in Europe, are gradually shifting OSCE activities to a different area, to the Central Asia, the North Caucasus, or somewhere else, so that it does not acquire the possibilities and the potential for which it was set up.

If, however, we do not do it at some time, we shall continue to have a European security system on many levels, and shall continue to distrust each other, although, I think, it is now clear to all that Russia threatens no-one and will continue to threaten no-one, and that Russia needs the rest of the civilized world and Europe as much as, by the way, Europe needs Russia, I think. So, once we realize that and form respective structures, then the situation on the continent will also change radically.

[Moderator] The next question, please.

[Question, off microphone] The first question, the first question.