Vladimir Putin met with Russian business executives at the Kremlin. Some of the key statements by the President:

🔹In 2025, Russia will be striving to ensure balanced growth, develop a supply-side economy across-the-board, continue implementing the existing national projects and also launching some new ones to fuel technological progress, and develop infrastructure.

🔹Manpower is a crucial aspect today, in terms of both quantity and quality. It is necessary that businesses employ well-trained workers who are truly focused on the future.

🔹Ignoring the ecological issues is unacceptable, even under the pretext of actual difficulties, for the health and lives of millions of Russian citizens depend on whether those issues are solved.

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The Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin news conference began the Gostiny Dvor exhibition complex

In a live broadcast, Vladimir Putin will present a review of 2024, responding to questions from both media and Russian citizens from all over the country. This year, the questions for the President were processed using artificial intelligence tools.

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The President outlined Russia’s economic performance at the end of 2024

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Soldiers of the 155th separate guards naval infantry brigade sent the President a copy of their banner

Let this banner represent all the banners of our soldiers who are fighting for Russia, for their homeland along the entire line of engagement as we speak.

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The Supreme Commander-in-Chief spoke on whether NATO would be able to intercept Oreshnik missiles at the launch

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The President spoke on reconstruction plans for Donbass and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions

We are planning to build a ring road around the Azov Sea, which is now an inland sea of the Russian Federation.

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"You, and those who pay your salary, would like to present everything that is happening in Syria as a shortcoming, or a defeat of Russia. I would like to assure you that it is not so. And I'll tell you why": the President responded to a question by by NBC's Kier Simmons

We have established relations with all groups that control the situation on the ground, and with all countries in the region. The majority of them are telling us that they have an interest for our military bases in Syria to remain in place.

We need to think about it, because we need to decide for our own sake what will be our relations with those forces that are controlling the situation right now and are going to control it in the future. Our interests should coincide. If we are to stay there, we must be doing something in the interest of the country we are in. What would be such interests, what could we do for them? This is a question that requires accurate and painstaking working-through from both sides.

But now, even now, we can do something using these bases, and we have already proposed that our partners, including those who are in the territory of Syria, and the neigbouring countries, use the Khmeimim Air Base to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria. This was accepted with an understanding and with a willingness to organise this work jointly. The same applies to the Tartus Naval Base.

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Vladimir Putin described the philosophy behind BRICS

There are no small or big countries within BRICS, no countries that are more or less developed: this is an association based on common interests. And there is one common interest: their national development.

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On the issue of migration and ways to solve it

There are two components here, the economic and the law enforcement ones. And there should be synergy between them.

We had lots of debate about establishing a separate body, — and we used to have one, — or just leaving it as a division within the Interior Ministry. I believe that we need to intensify the work done within the Interior.

A powerful, heavy-duty centre should be established either within the Interior Ministry or under it, that should be in constant touch with the economic agencies and ministries, as well as regions, of course, to resolve those issues and keep track of things.

There is a great deal of regulation on the regional level, and that must going from a single centre.

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Vladimir Putin: YouTube and Google must comply with Russia's laws

YouTube or Google should not abuse the Internet to secure foreign policy goals of their governments. <...>

Nature abhors a vacuum: VK, Telegram, RUTUBE, all of that is growing rapidly. And if Google and YouTube, taking that into account, tries to reconfigure its presence in Russia, than they will have no problems here whatsoever.

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If you could go back to February 2022, would you have changed your decision? See the President's response

The decision made in early 2022 ought to have been taken before, earlier. This is number one.

And number two: we ought to have started getting ready for those developments, the special military operation included. The developments in Crimea were impromptu, and the events of 2022 were started without any particular preparations.

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"Have they been impeding us? Yes, they have. Have they been creating handicaps for us? Yes, they have. Will they be able to kill it all off completely? No, they will not": the President on the competition between Russia and the West in the Arctic

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The President responded to a question about what makes him personally happy

The happiness will not be complete until all of our soldiers return from the frontlines, until they meet their mothers and wives, until their children hug them; until our young people, girls and boys, create the necessary number — necessary for us, for Russia — of families and have children. I really want our scientists and cultural figures can fulfill themselves. And then I will able to say I am happy.

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