Respecting the sovereignty means preventing coups, unconstitutional actions and illegitimate overthrowing of the legitimate government. All these things should be totally prevented.

Equipping one side of an ethnic conflict and then prodding it to resolve its ethnic problems by force of arms is a very bad policy.

I can't believe that OMON [Russia's riot police] would hit a girl. I simply can't imagine it.

The last time I was in Japan as President of Russia was 11 years ago, if memory serves. I later visited in my capacity as Prime Minister.

We [with Shindzo Abe] should understand that the results of that terrible tragedy of the 20th century, namely World War II, are enshrined in corresponding international documents, and finding a way to settle all disputes without destroying the entire foundation of international law that evolved as a result of World War II is a highly delicate task. Therefore, I would like to reiterate that we cannot second-guess the course, let alone the outcome of our negotiations.

Russia doesn't negotiate with terrorists. It destroys them.

Democracy is an internal subject of the developing society. There are fundamentals of democracy, and they should be understood universally in different countries.