Crimea has always been and remains Russian, as well as Ukrainian, Crimean-Tatar, Greek (after all, there are Greeks living there) and German - and it will be home to all of those peoples. As for state affiliation, the people living in Crimea made their choice; it should be treated with respect, and Russia cannot do otherwise. I hope that our neighbouring and distant partners will ultimately treat this the same way, since in this case, the highest criteria used to establish the truth can only be the opinion of the people themselves.
Vladimir PutinI have always tried to sense the mood of the people, their needs, their attitude toward ways to solve problems, their priorities. That's mainly what I go by. And I think that's the most important thing in any person's work, in the work that the people of Russia entrusted in me.
Vladimir PutinWe are natural partners [with Japan] in the world and the Far East, but the absence of a peace treaty does not allow us to develop the full range of our relations. Therefore, we will naturally strive to sign this treaty.
Vladimir PutinI would like to repeat: I know absolutely nothing about [hacker's attacks], and Russia has never done anything like this at the State level.
Vladimir PutinSome are addicted to cigarettes, some, God forbid, to drugs, and some become addicted to money. They say that the worst addiction is to power. I have never felt that. I have never been addicted to anything
Vladimir PutinRussia and the United States are the biggest nuclear powers, this leaves us with an extra special responsibility. By the way, we manage to deal with it and work together in certain fields, particularly in resolving the issue of the Iranian nuclear programme. We worked together and we achieved positive results on the whole.
Vladimir Putin