The Chancellor [Angela Merkel] and the European partners would be well-advised to address the problems in eastern Ukraine more thoroughly. Maybe they have too many domestic problems of their own at the moment.

The US wants to subdue Russia, to solve US problems at Russia's expense. No one in history ever managed to do this to Russia, and no one ever will.

The absence of a peace treaty [with Japan] is an anachronism we inherited from the past and it must be removed. However, how to do this is a complicated issue.

My personal position is that society must keep children safe.

I have always thought and I still think that the Central Bank should act independently. Indeed, it does, you can take my word. I do not interfere in the decisions of the Central Bank and I do not give instructions to the Bank management or to its head.

In the soul of a Russian person there is always a drive toward some kind of lofty moral ideal, lofty moral values. That definitely sets us apart, and I'm certain it's in a good way.

We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, I can tell you quite honestly.