Our common goal should be the development of a system of equal security for all governments. System adequate [to deal with] modern threats, built on regional and global nonaligned bases. Only then can we ensure peace and tranquility in the world.

The transfer of power is always a test of the constitutional system, a test of its strength.

We are not going to waste our reserves and burn them for any political ambitions. We will act very carefully.

We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today's complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not.

Indeed, that is exactly what they [the Arctic convoys] were. We know that the conditions in which they fought were appalling. Time and again they faced death in the name of a common victory and we remember that.

It is true that the role of the state in the Russian economy may be too big today, but from the fiscal standpoint, it is not always practical to do this in a falling market.

As to our trade and economic relations with China, they are growing more and more diverse each day, something we have worked on for a long time with our partners from China.