OMSK, August 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the amendments to the country’s pension legislation should be fair and have "a human dimension."
"Please do not forget that all our decisions will concern the destinies of millions of people and must be fair and take into account people’s interests," the head of state said at a meeting on socio-economic issues referring to the government-proposed amendments to Russia’s pension system on Tuesday. "One cannot act mechanically here, making it a mere formality. [One should act] thoughtfully and carefully, considering various real world situations that people face."
"It is precisely this - the human dimension - that must be present in the proposed [pension system] draft law," the president stressed.
The head of state added that the reforms are necessary "to make sure that Russia’s pension system not only corresponds to present-day realities, but is financially stable for decades to come." These changes must ensure decent living standards and protect the current and future generations of our citizens, Putin stressed.
The Russian president promised to outline his stance and make it public after his listens to the arguments his cabinet is expected to put forward, possibly on Wednesday. "I will formulate my approach in detail, maybe tomorrow, and make a statement to this effect. But before I do that, I would like to listen to your considerations once again," Putin said. "For my part, of course, I follow the discussion closely and have my own opinion on this set of issues."
On Tuesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin would make a statement concerning his stance on the amendments to the pension legislation in a televised address.
"That will be a televised address," the Russian presidential spokesman promised, adding that the president is expected to make a statement on the issue on Wednesday.