Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the international press corps at the conclusion of the Oct. 22-24 BRICS Summit in Kazan. In his opening statement, he described that the summit had gathered delegations from 35 countries and 6 international organizations. In the hour-long dialogue, after making a short presentation on the accomplishments of the groundbreaking summit, he took a wide range of questions.
• On a New Payments System
“We are not creating any alternatives to anything, but settlements are, indeed, a critical issue which is why we are using our respective national currencies, which is a well-known fact.
‘’Regarding payment systems, we are using the Russian financial messaging system created by the Central Bank of Russia. Other BRICS countries also have their own systems, which we will also use, are already using and will continue to use. However, we are not inventing a separate common system, since we are doing well with what we have. All we need to do is take timely administrative decisions, which we also discussed with our colleagues, and we will continue down that path.”
• On Contacts with Trump and Post-Election Relations to U.S. Relations
“With regard to contacts with Mr. Trump, this issue has been making headlines for years now. At one point, Mr. Trump and Russia were accused of being connected. However, after an investigation conducted in the United States, everyone, including U.S. Congress, concluded that it was utter nonsense and that nothing of the kind ever happened. There were no contacts back then, and there are none now.
“Russia-U.S. relations after the elections depend primarily on the United States. If the United States is open to building normal relations with Russia, we will do the same. If not, so be it. This is up to the future Administration.”
• On Trump’s Claims To Have Threatened To Strike Moscow
“As to whether it is possible to use threats. Well, you can threaten anyone. However, it serves no purpose to threaten Russia, as it merely strengthens our resolve. I do not recall having such a conversation with Mr. Trump. This is undoubtedly a very intense phase of the electoral campaign in the United States, and I would advise against taking statements of this nature too seriously. However, what Mr. Trump has recently expressed, which I have heard, is his wish to do everything possible to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. I think he is sincere about that. Statements of this nature, regardless of their origin, are certainly welcomed by us.
