Putin gets record number of questions on call-in program

World Today

The Russian economy, the crisis in Ukraine and the sanctions against Moscow are just some of the topics Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed in his annual call-in program. CCTV’s Tom Barton filed this report from Moscow.

Highlights:
  • More than 3 million questions were received, a record for all of Putin’s call-ins since his first one in 2001
  • The Russian ruble currency has recently been strengthening after losing nearly half of its value against the dollar late last year.
  • President Putin said that sanctions would only make Russia’s economy more self-reliant and that unemployment and government debt in the EU and US were worse than in Russia.
  • The President said that Russian supplies of S300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran would be a deterrent factor in the middle east, despite international criticism that the supplies could derail an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program. When it came to fighting in eastern Ukraine, Mr Putin blamed Kiev, saying they were not trying to implement the latest ceasefire, while protesting Russia’s innocence.