Meeting with heads of international news agencies

Director General of TASS News Agency, moderator of the meeting Andrei Kondrashov: Mr President, guests,

Allow me to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude for upholding the steadfast tradition whereby the leaders of the world's news agencies gather here, in the Northern capital, during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, for an open dialogue with you. TASS has the honour of inviting our colleagues to this meeting.

I would note that some of our guests have forewarned us that they have come prepared with some rather incisive questions. In turn, we have cautioned them that you too may have a few questions for certain journalists from various countries.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: No, I will not be asking questions. I am not a journalist. It is you who will be asking questions; I will be providing the answers.

Andrei Kondrashov: In any event, let us strive to make our meeting today open, candid, and dynamic. The purpose of such gatherings is, as in previous years, that the discussions here will be rapidly disseminated in hundreds of news flashes across the globe for those present here today and the agencies they represent are responsible for generating more than three-quarters of the global information flow.

Therefore, today, we will not follow any alphabetical order, but we will maintain one tradition. Let us begin our discussion with a representative of the fairer half of journalism - Ms Raushan Kazhibayeva, Director General of the Television and Radio Complex of the President of Kazakhstan.

Please, Ms Kazhibayeva, you have the floor for the first question.

Director of the Television and Radio Complex of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Raushan Kazhibayeva: Thank you very much.

Mr President, I have two questions for you.

Your recent state visit to Kazakhstan was a great success and undoubtedly one of the most significant events on our bilateral agenda this year.

During the visit, you and our President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, adopted a joint document on the seven foundations of friendship and good-neighbourly relations between the peoples of Kazakhstan and Russia. My first question: what, in your view, is the significance of this document?

My second question relates to one of the most talked-about moments of the visit - the Amur tigers that Russia gifted to Kazakhstan. President Tokayev called this gift the highlight of the visit. Could you tell us whether this is not just an environmental project, but rather a symbol - a vivid symbol of trust between our countries? Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Our relations with Kazakhstan are advancing steadily; they are on the rise. That said, I should point out straight away that our Kazakhstani friends and partners are not easy partners. We always have very heated debates on almost every issue - whether it is financial relations, industrial cooperation, investment conditions, or major joint projects. But on both sides, there is a desire to find a compromise that doesn't just satisfy both parties but also helps us achieve shared goals. And our shared goal is clear: development and prosperity for the citizens of Kazakhstan and Russia.

We fully understand - we know that we are bound by centuries of shared history, no exaggeration here, and we have certain advantages inherited from the time we were part of a single state. What are those advantages? Cooperation, and particularly unified transport links. You asked your question in Russian, and I am grateful for that. That too is an important factor - one that, to some extent, and in many cases, takes on a purely economic dimension. Everything is clear: we understand each other, and we speak the same language.

There is also enormous interest in continuing the benefits of education - both the evolving education system in Kazakhstan and the developments and new trends emerging in the Russian Federation. As you may recall, the President of Kazakhstan and I attended the launch of the Sirius system, which has proven successful in developing effective methods for identifying and supporting gifted children. Of course, Kazakhstan has many gifted children - they just need to be found - and this area of our cooperation will focus on this.

To be continued.