After being interviewed by reporters for India Today prior to his trip to India, Russian President Vladimir [Putin spoke with](http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/78650 ) presenters and executives of the India Today Group media conglomerate. He told them:
“Your ladies constantly pushed me towards expressing anti-Western sentiments, but I tried to keep things balanced. I believe the Western community can only be pitied these days. Honestly. They’ve cornered themselves into numerous dead ends in many areas. Who’s against protecting the environment? Everyone supports it!”
Asked if he meant “rejecting fossil fuel sources,” Putin replied: “We’re not rejecting them; we’re developing new technologies and gradually changing things, yes. But that takes time and huge investments. Countries with insufficient level of economic development do not have these resources—they can’t invest in new types of energy. So what should they do? And the West imposes restrictive measures on them and says, ‘Do whatever you want.’ In essence, this is a new form of neo-colonialism.”
“They [the Western countries] simply stalemate themselves. They shut down nuclear power plants, coal production, everything. How are they supposed to live? Now they have to open them again because cheap Russian gas isn’t available anymore”
Anjana Om Kashyap said: “They even take pride that they don’t recognize climate change. The US President declared that liberals had invented the myth about climate change.”
Putin responded: “Partly he is right—it’s not a myth, but an abuse of these processes for political purposes. He is absolutely right here; I agree with him.”
Asked what his inner rule for his life is, Putin said: “Well, you know, there’s one general rule that I consider to be my rule—it’s well-known: I try to do what I consider not just necessary, but something I have no right not to do, no matter what.” One of the Indians commented: “Great principal.” Putin responded: “Well, I don’t know how great it is, but it’s a sort of my inner rule that just came up in my life on its own. So to say, I do what I have no right not to do. That’s the most important thing.”
