"Nothing surprising" in Donald Trump's promise to expand US nuclear forces
Claims Russia's armed forces "stronger than any potential aggressor"
Putin plays down chances of early presidential election in 2017
Russian president’s traditional end-of-year Q&A marathon session. Over 1,400 journalists have joined the event. It is expected that the focus will be on the US election results, Syrian conflict, and domestic issues.
President Putin is expected to speak on the Syrian crisis, the US election results, and his cautious optimism towards a possible rapprochement between Moscow and Washington, as well as on the economic challenges faced by Russia.
At least 1,437 reporters have been accredited this year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.
This year, Vladimir Putin postponed his annual end-of-year press conference in order to attend the funeral of the assassinated Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, whose funeral took place on Thursday.
President Putin's marathon question and answer sessions are a rare chance for foreign and domestic media to question him directly on anything from foreign policy and his various wars to bread-and-butter economic issues.
The events of the past week mean foreign affairs will probably dominate today.
10:06am Nothing suspicious in Trump's affection for Putin
Putin says accusations of Russian interference in the US elections do not reflect well on those who make them.
The good relationship between Mr Putin and some US republicans is very simple, he says: They share views on how the world should be run and "traditional values."
"We want businesslike, constructive relationship with the United States," he says.
And the question is about the great big bridge Russia is building there.
Mr Putin begins by saying he hopes relations with Ukraine, from which he annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014, will one day improve.
But subtext about the bridge question is economic, which is why Mr Putin launches into another economics lecture about the state of the Crimean economy.
He says there is a program for integrating the region into Russia and that he is satisfied by progress so far. Economic growth and sectors like machine building are increasing there faster than in the rest of the country, he says.
Vladimir Putin plays down chances of a new nuclear arms race following Donald Trump's promise to expand the US nuclear arsenal.
"Mr Trump spoke about strengthening the US nuclear forces during his election campaign. There is nothing unusual in that," he says.
However, he takes a swipe at Western insistence that missile defence plans are not directed at Russia (this is an age old grievance).
"No one disputes that the US armed forces are the most powerful in the world," he says, referring to yesterday's exchange of sabre rattling between himself and Mr Trump.
"But I said the Russian armed forces are stronger than any potential aggressor. I didn't say that by mistake - I mean stronger than any possible attacker against the Russian Federation."
The Wall Street Journal asks if there will be early presidential elections in 2017.
Mr Putin shoots back "in which country?"
Laughter.
Mr Putin says the shock arrest of Alexei Ulyukayev, Russia's minster of economic development, last month was justified based on the evidence investigators had gathered.
Mr Ulyukayev was arrested for attempting to extract a $2 million bribe for approving the sale of an oil company to Rosneft, the state owned oil giant run by Mr Putin's friend and ally Igor Sechin.
Most commentators believe the arrest was the result of a quarrel in the elite.
Liberal radio station Echo of Moscow demands to know whether anyone will be held accountable for the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Mr Putin says he supports the investigation into Mr Nemtsov's murder, but insists it must follow the routine of any other criminal investigation.
Vladimir Putin sighs very briefly as he launches into another patient lecture on the national finances.
"It's no good having weak players in the banking sector," he says, referring to the presence of a large number of potentially toxic lending houses.
But, he adds, regulations should be eased for small banks to encourage lending.
The Central Bank has been scrambling to strip unstable banks of their licenses before they collapse - one thing liberal Russian economists say deserves praise.
The evacuation of rebel fighters from Aleppo is complete, creating the conditions for a ceasefire deal in Syria, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying on Friday.
"In my view we are very close to achieving an agreement on a full ceasefire across the territory of Syria," Shoigu said at a meeting with Mr Putin ahead of the press conference.
Putin: Fall of Russian GDP this year was about 0.5%, in 2015 it still was 3.7%. Great results in agricultur— Joost Bosman (@Joosje) December 23, 2016
"We must support demand. Agricultural machine building demonstrates a very good rate of growth...but we need machine building and other sectors of the economy to exist on demand, not on government subsidies," Mr Putin says.
Agriculture is one segment of the Russian economy that has done rather well out of the Western sanctions regime - or to be precise the Russian counter sanctions, which banned imports of Western fruit, vegetables, dairy, and some meat.
The country has also boosted grain production in recent years, turning the country into a net exporter,
9:14am; Deaths are down, population growth up
Mr Putin insists Russia's demographics are stable.
9:06am:Putin: let's start without a monologue
First question from Moscow's Radio Mayak - at the end of the year, what's the state of the economy?
9:04am:Conference pre-game
Russia's state media is predicting an economics heavy press conference (not that the questions are pre-agreed). - Issues like the controversial partial privatization of Rosneft, the state owned oil company, and the state of the ruble - a constant preoccupation in a country that has suffered catastrophic devaluations in the past - will likely be addressed, the Vesti television channel reports.
8:42am: Trump and Putin signal renewal of nuclear arms race
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin fired the starting gun on a new nuclear arms race on Friday as they both vowed to launch a major expansion of their countries’ arsenals.
Mr Trump, the US president-elect, said on Twitter: "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."
That appeared to be a response to sabre-rattling remarks hours earlier by Mr Putin.
Speaking at an end-of-year meeting with his defence chiefs, the Russian president said strengthening nuclear capability should be a chief objective for 2017.
"We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems," Mr Putin s
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Putin says accusations of Russian interference in the US elections do not reflect well on those who make them.
The good relationship between Mr Putin and some US republicans is very simple, he says: They share views on how the world should be run and "traditional values."
"We want businesslike, constructive relationship with the United States," he says.
The Democratic Party is wrong to blame Hillary Clinton's defeat on Russia
Let's have a question from Crimea
And the question is about the great big bridge Russia is building there.
Mr Putin begins by saying he hopes relations with Ukraine, from which he annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014, will one day improve.
But subtext about the bridge question is economic, which is why Mr Putin launches into another economics lecture about the state of the Crimean economy.
He says there is a program for integrating the region into Russia and that he is satisfied by progress so far. Economic growth and sectors like machine building are increasing there faster than in the rest of the country, he says.
Donald Trump's nuclear weapons rhetoric is 'not a surprise'
Vladimir Putin plays down chances of a new nuclear arms race following Donald Trump's promise to expand the US nuclear arsenal.
"Mr Trump spoke about strengthening the US nuclear forces during his election campaign. There is nothing unusual in that," he says.
However, he takes a swipe at Western insistence that missile defence plans are not directed at Russia (this is an age old grievance).
"No one disputes that the US armed forces are the most powerful in the world," he says, referring to yesterday's exchange of sabre rattling between himself and Mr Trump.
"But I said the Russian armed forces are stronger than any potential aggressor. I didn't say that by mistake - I mean stronger than any possible attacker against the Russian Federation."
The first joke.
The Wall Street Journal asks if there will be early presidential elections in 2017.
Mr Putin shoots back "in which country?"
Laughter.
Economy minister's arrest 'was justified'
Mr Putin says the shock arrest of Alexei Ulyukayev, Russia's minster of economic development, last month was justified based on the evidence investigators had gathered.
Mr Ulyukayev was arrested for attempting to extract a $2 million bribe for approving the sale of an oil company to Rosneft, the state owned oil giant run by Mr Putin's friend and ally Igor Sechin.
Most commentators believe the arrest was the result of a quarrel in the elite.
Who killed Boris Nemtsov
Liberal radio station Echo of Moscow demands to know whether anyone will be held accountable for the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Mr Putin says he supports the investigation into Mr Nemtsov's murder, but insists it must follow the routine of any other criminal investigation.
Russia's troubled banking sector
Vladimir Putin sighs very briefly as he launches into another patient lecture on the national finances.
"It's no good having weak players in the banking sector," he says, referring to the presence of a large number of potentially toxic lending houses.
But, he adds, regulations should be eased for small banks to encourage lending.
The Central Bank has been scrambling to strip unstable banks of their licenses before they collapse - one thing liberal Russian economists say deserves praise.
In the meantime...
The evacuation of rebel fighters from Aleppo is complete, creating the conditions for a ceasefire deal in Syria, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying on Friday.
"In my view we are very close to achieving an agreement on a full ceasefire across the territory of Syria," Shoigu said at a meeting with Mr Putin ahead of the press conference.
It is the economy, stupid
Putin: Fall of Russian GDP this year was about 0.5%, in 2015 it still was 3.7%. Great results in agricultur— Joost Bosman (@Joosje) December 23, 2016
Question 2: the state of Russian agriculture
"We must support demand. Agricultural machine building demonstrates a very good rate of growth...but we need machine building and other sectors of the economy to exist on demand, not on government subsidies," Mr Putin says.
Agriculture is one segment of the Russian economy that has done rather well out of the Western sanctions regime - or to be precise the Russian counter sanctions, which banned imports of Western fruit, vegetables, dairy, and some meat.
The country has also boosted grain production in recent years, turning the country into a net exporter,
9:14am; Deaths are down, population growth up
Mr Putin insists Russia's demographics are stable.
9:12am: Agriculture will save the economy.
Mr Putin acknowledges the recession, but predicts "by November we will see a small growth in the Russian economy."
He singles out machine building, lorry building, transport, construction, and especially agriculture as growth sectors.
One thing that has not changed in his 16 years in power is Mr Putin's fondness for citing a string of figures on GDP, inflation, and budget deficits which (generally) amount to a positive picture of the future.
Mr Putin acknowledges the recession, but predicts "by November we will see a small growth in the Russian economy."
He singles out machine building, lorry building, transport, construction, and especially agriculture as growth sectors.
One thing that has not changed in his 16 years in power is Mr Putin's fondness for citing a string of figures on GDP, inflation, and budget deficits which (generally) amount to a positive picture of the future.
9:06am:Putin: let's start without a monologue
First question from Moscow's Radio Mayak - at the end of the year, what's the state of the economy?
9:04am:Conference pre-game
Russia's state media is predicting an economics heavy press conference (not that the questions are pre-agreed). - Issues like the controversial partial privatization of Rosneft, the state owned oil company, and the state of the ruble - a constant preoccupation in a country that has suffered catastrophic devaluations in the past - will likely be addressed, the Vesti television channel reports.
8:42am: Trump and Putin signal renewal of nuclear arms race
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin fired the starting gun on a new nuclear arms race on Friday as they both vowed to launch a major expansion of their countries’ arsenals.
Mr Trump, the US president-elect, said on Twitter: "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."
That appeared to be a response to sabre-rattling remarks hours earlier by Mr Putin.
Speaking at an end-of-year meeting with his defence chiefs, the Russian president said strengthening nuclear capability should be a chief objective for 2017.
"We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems," Mr Putin s
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