Even if states sometimes have problems with each other, arts and sports should not suffer from that. Arts and sports are there to bring the people together - and not to divide them.

How was Kosovo recognized? They forgot about the territorial integrity of a state, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which they had themselves adopted and supported. Why could it have been done there, but not in Abkhazia and South Ossetia? Why not?

We want full-scale normalisation of relations [with Japan].

We have made mistakes! We were too late. If we had presented our national interests more clearly from the beginning, the world would still be in balance today.

Some years ago our Japanese counterparts asked us to resume the discussions of the issue and so we did meeting them halfway. Over the passed couple of years the contacts were practically frozen on the initiative of the Japanese side, not ours. At the same time, presently our partners have expressed their eagerness to resume discussions on this issue [the Kuril Islands].

It is very difficult to enter a single currency zone having fairly weak economic parameters and maintain a favourable state of the economy, not to mention positive growth rates. We have witnessed it not only in Europe, but for example in Argentina (nearly 10 years ago or more), when they tied the national currency to the dollar and later they did not know what to do about it.

A policy of expansionism and conquest has no future in the modern world.