Russian President Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation was much more balanced in foreign policy and domestic political topics than was predicted by experts, the editor-in-chief of Vestnik Kavkaza, Maria Sidelnikova, said on the sidelines of Putin's address in the Kremlin Palace. According to her, although the majority expected that the focus of the president's speech will be on the problem of international terrorism and Russian military operation in Syria, in fact, the head of state for the most part spoke about the socio-economic problems in Russia.
"As it was expected, Putin started from the topic of the fight against terrorism. Vladimir Vladimirovich thanked the Russian military and announced a minute of silence in memory of the fallen soldiers. The President of the country, which is at the forefront of the struggle against the world evil, could not begin his speech with anything else, especially now, when the terrorist threat has become a reality for all countries of the world. At the same time, Putin briefly reiterated the main directions of Russia's position: the need to create a common international front fighting against terrorism, condemnation of true perpetrators of the transformation of the Middle East countries into a zone of chaos and anarchy, destruction of channels of financial and material support to terrorist organizations, the fight against Daesh in Syria as the protection of Russia," the editor-in-chief of Vestnik Kavkaza drew attention.
Sidelnikova recalled that this year Putin has repeatedly addressed the Federal Assembly, as well as various Russian and international forums with the call to fight against international terrorism and consistently develop such prerequisites, as the rule of international law and national security tasks, which today is a base for Russia's behavior in the world arena. "In fact, the recent events in the Middle East have only confirmed that positions generated by the Russian state were right, and it was enough for the president to only emphasize this, adding that Russia is one of the countries for which terrorism is not just a word, but a severe reality, and to call on civilized countries to join the real fight against terrorism, rather than declarative one," she said.
The editor-in-chief of Vestnik Kavkaza described the words about Turkey as a key episode in the foreign policy part of Putin's speech. "Vladimir Vladimirovich has placed the final accents in the reaction of the Russian Federation on the destruction of the Russian bomber by the Turkish Air Force. In my opinion the most important thing was that Russia doesn't equate the Turkish nation, which, according to the president, is kind, hard-working and talented, and the authorities of the republic, described as the ruling clique, which hold direct responsibility for the deaths of the Russian troops. Thus, the last doubts about who is the aggressor, according to our leadership, were dispelled: ordinary Turkish citizens, businessmen, students and workers living in Russia or cooperating with the Russians on the territory of their country are not to blame for the actions and decisions of the ruling elite, and further measures will be taken by the Russian Federation only against the Turkish authorities, but not against ordinary residents of Turkey," Maria Sidelnikova explained.
"That is, these words of Putin are a fundamental point, which allows Russian-Turkish relations in the economic and humanitarian levels to return to the previous constructive state. The conflict was only at the diplomatic and highest levels, and the second most important position was declared here: Ankara will not escape responsibility for the violation of the agreements and the murders of Russian troops," she added.
After that, the president switched to political and economic topics. "This year, as before, Vladimir Vladimirovich covered all spheres of Russian life, starting from the need to maintain a global multi-ethnic and multi-religious unity of the country, to the private proposals for individual areas of social welfare, such as the allocation of budget funds for the renovation of schools. The need to support Russian entrepreneurs during crisis, including the extension of such measures as the amnesty of capital, reduction of control over business, and new initiatives, such as additional capitalization of 20 billion rubles to the Industry Development Fund, and the right of regions on the annulling of income tax, also took a prominent place in his speech," the editor-in-chief of Vestnik Kavkaza said.
According to her, Putin's remark about the need to be strong in all areas of life and the work of all layers of society mean to need for a dialogue between the government, businesses and citizens to achieve this goal. "As usual, at the end of the speech the president stressed that Russia's unity is its strength, and splitting into factions is its death, and assured the Russian people that together we will succeed. Thus, Vladimir Vladimirovich not only outlined the government's position on the major international issues, but also highlighted the specific work agenda for the coming year, focused on the welfare and security of the citizens of the Russian Federation," Maria Sidelnikova concluded.
