Of course, the Ukrainian crisis is an ongoing issue. Our newscaster, Dmitry Kiselyov, asked a very important question.
Dmitry Kiselyov, head of Rossiya Segodnya: "Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, our neighbor, celebrated New Year in the Maldives, according to many Ukrainian sources. It seems he rented a whole island there, where he shouted, "Glory to Ukraine!" It's important to remember that. However, many people in Donbass have refused to accept the coup that took place in Kiev.
Right now, the lives of these people are terrible. We don't usually receive good news from there. Although recently, there was a partial prisoner exchange. But apart from that, people are being shot almost every day.
Does Donbass have a future? Is it a stalemate? Europe already seems to be willing to forget about it. Are we going to do something? Our options are pretty limited, aren't they?"
Vladimir Putin: "Well, regarding New Year and all the other holidays I always spend the holidays in Russia. It's a tradition. And frankly speaking, I don't want to celebrate them anywhere else. On New Year's Day, I was at home, and then I went to Siberia for a couple days. It was rather cold there, -33°C. But I like it like that.
I don't know where the Ukrainian president celebrated New Year, but I don't think it's shameful for a president to travel abroad with his family".
Dmitry Kiselyov: "But he says his country is at war. He's got a war back home and he went to the Maldives".
Vladimir Putin: "I don't know anything about that. I have no credible information and can't comment on that. Anyway, he's a rich person and can afford to travel abroad with his family, including to the Maldives and any other islands.
Regarding the prospects for a settlement of the conflict in Donbass, it's actually becoming a stalemate, and nobody is interested in that, including Russia. We'd like to resolve the issue in a way that wouldn't disturb any residents of the territory.
I don't want to make any predictions. I've said it many times, and I'd like to repeat it: Russia would be satisfied if the Minsk Agreements were implemented".
Putin considers the current relations between Russia and Ukraine to be inadequate. He believes that after the Donbass crisis is resolved, relations between the two countries will gradually recover. For its part, Russia handed over Ukrainian arms that were left in Crimea.
Vladimir Putin: "We're ready to continue the process. We're ready to hand over the battleships that are still docked in Crimea to Ukraine. We're prepared to hand over the airplanes, and tanks, even though their condition is lamentable, but that's none of our business, it was already like that, and wasn't maintained throughout the years.
But there are dozens of ships and combat aircraft. Speaking of the ships, it would be better if the Ukrainian military comes and takes them. We're ready to help them transport the vessels to Odessa.
There's also a large number of munitions, but, according to our military experts, they can't be transported — it's too dangerous. It will be disposed of locally. We're ready to invite the Ukrainian military to help us dispose of these munitions".
