The political elite in Russia don't want domestic reform, they aren't ready for it. As such, they welcome an external threat. You have to remember that Russia rests on two national concepts: defense and sovereignty. We approach the question of security much more reverentially than other countries do.

In a crisis, we will destroy exactly the weapons. Russia will never again fight on its own territory .

In Putin's world, and in mine, it is inconceivable that women be harassed and raped in public.

It scares me when the Europeans demand more and more democracy. It sounds like times past, when people here demanded more and more socialism.

I am of the opinion that we shouldn't turn away from Europe. We have to find ways to revitalize our relations.

Some among the European elite have sought out confrontation with us. As a consequence, we won't help Europe, although we could do so when it comes to the refugee question. A joint closure of borders would be essential. In this regard, the Russians would be 10 times more effective than the Europeans.

Russian politics was focused for too long on fixing past mistakes - fixing the mistakes made in the 1990s.