Here is a summary of the key points from the Putin press conference:
Putin admitted for the first time the presence of Russian military specialists in east Ukraine. Asked by a Ukrainian reporter an hour into the briefing about two Russian military intelligence officers captured by Kiev and currently on trial in Ukraine, Putin said: “We never said there were not people there who carried out certain tasks including in the military sphere.” He insisted this was not the same as regular Russian troops.
Putin said the Russian military operation in Syria will continue until a political process starts and that he was unsure whether Russia needs a permanent military base in the country. He added that Moscow supports a US draft of a UN Security Council resolution on Syria. A new constitution for Syria must be drafted, and a new election prepared in which the Syrians themselves will determine its leadership, he said.
Putin said he doesn’t see any prospect for reviving relations with Turkey, and that Ataturk would be rolling in his grave over Islamization in modern Turkey. He was angry that Ankara called Brussels, not Moscow, when it downed a Russian jet.
Putin said the killing of opposition leader Nemtsov must be investigated and punished.
Putin said said FIFA’s Sepp Blatter deserves a Nobel peace prize.
Putin said it was not possible to say Russian officers in captivity would be exchanged for Ukrainian helicopter pilot Nadezhda Savchenko because of the criminal case against them.
Putin did not confirm or deny whether Ekaterina Tikhonva is his daughter, stating that he did not discuss his daughters “due to security matters”.
He said it was not yet clear whether the children of Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika had actually committed any crimes, an allegation recently made by the opposition.
And he said Russia has passed the peak of the economic crisis.
Putin upshot: Turkey is licking America's butt; people like Blatter should get Nobel; 'people' in Donbass carried out certain military tasks
Before he left - Putin said Russia doesn’t see a new anti-terror coalition led by Saudi Arabia as hostile to its interests, but he called for pooling global efforts to fight against terrorism. He said that he doesn’t quite understand the purpose of creating the new coalition, because many of its members are part of the U.S.-led coalition. At the same time, he added that Russia has cooperated with Saudi Arabia despite their differences on the Syrian crisis.
Putin said Russia is working with Egypt to restore air links that Moscow cut following the crash of a Russian airliner on the Sinai Peninsula. Moscow has said the plane was downed by an explosive device.
He said Russia decided to suspend air travel with Egypt because its agencies aren’t immediately capable of guaranteeing safety of Russian citizens. He said that the move wasn’t political and he praised the Egyptian president for his “great personal courage” in fighting terror.
Putin added that the air links will be restored after Russian and Egyptian officials work out a set of measures to ensure safety, including the presence of Russian representatives at Egyptian airports.
Vladimir Putin has for the first time admitted the presence of Russian military specialists in east Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedlydenied a military presence in the conflict, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But the Russian president conceded there were military intelligence officers operating in the country in a marathon press conference on Thursday.
Asked by a Ukrainian reporter an hour into the briefing about two Russian military intelligence officers captured by Kiev and currently on trial in Ukraine, Putin said: “We never said there were not people there who carried out certain tasks including in the military sphere.” He insisted this was not the same as regular Russian troops.
There was no opportunity for a follow-up question to examine how many military specialists Putin believes were in Ukraine and what exact tasks they were carrying out. At key moments in the conflict in east Ukraine there has been much evidence of regular Russian army involvement.
Putin also initially denied the “little green men” present during the annexation of Crimea were Russian soldiers but afterwards admitted they were.
In the first part of his press conference, Putin also dealt with questions about the Russian economy, corruption, Syria and the recent crisis in relations with Turkey.
He struck an uncompromising note on Turkey, saying if the shooting down of a Russian jet had been an accident, officials could have called Moscow, but instead they called Nato first.
“Someone in the Turkish leadership tried to lick the Americans in a particular place, I don’t know whether the Americans needed that,” said Putin.
Mikhail Rubin from RBC asks: Is Ekaterina Tikhonva your daughter? Putin doesn’t deny nor confirm - “due to security matters”. He adds: “Every person has the right to decide his own future. My daughters were never star children, they’re just living their lives, in a very dignified way.”
My daughters live in Russia and never left to go live anywhere/ They only studied in Russia
Putin said Russia is ready to work to improve ties with the United States, and to work with anyone who is elected its next president.
He said his talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week have shown that Washington is ready to “move toward settling the issues that can only be settled through joint efforts.”
