MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Russia cannot exist without sovereignty, making it a crucial task for the country to strengthen it, President Vladimir Putin said during his combined Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference.
"I have talked about it many times, but it would not hurt to repeat it once again: a country like Russia simply cannot exist without sovereignty; it will simply cease to exist [without it], at least in the form in which it has existed for a thousand years," the Russian leader noted. "That said, the main thing is to strengthen sovereignty," Putin said, when asked about his domestic and foreign policy priorities.
However, the head of state emphasized that sovereignty was a very broad concept. "Strengthening external sovereignty, let’s put it this way, requires boosting the country’s defense capabilities and security along its borders. It’s also about strengthening public sovereignty, which includes the unequivocal protection of the rights and freedoms of the country’s citizens, as well as the development of our political system and parliamentarism. Finally, it entails efforts to ensure security in the fields of sovereignty and the economy," the president explained.
He also enumerated financial, economic and technological sovereignty, saying that it was a component of "every country’s future, including Russia." Putin expressed confidence that all of the country’s people were well aware that strengthening its sovereignty is absolutely critical for ensuring the very existence of Russia.