Vladimir Putin Quotes

America's development began with a large-scale ethnic cleansing, unprecedented in human history.

The Crimea is not a disputed territory. Unlike the case of Georgia and South Ossetia, there has been no ethnic conflict there.

I think happiness is love.

People in Russia say that those who do not regret the collapse of the Soviet Union have no heart, and those that do regret it have no brain.

I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe, but in the whole world. I collect emotions.

Europe and the United States are not the whole world.

One thing is clear, everyone, no matter what their professional or material status, no matter what their influence on various state structures, must obey the law.

Ukraine is going through a difficult time. There is nothing extraordinary of the resignation of the Ukrainian government ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections

I believe it is no secret that I like Japan very much - Japanese culture, sport, including judo, but it will not offend anyone if I say that I like Russia even more.

This work is either useless or harmful, because there is nothing good about populism. If you wanted to hear my opinion on this issue, that is what I think.

Russia will always remember the contribution [of King Fahd] in the development of Russian-Saudi relations, which in recent years were raised to a qualitatively higher level.

I insist that people - wherever they live - have their rights and they must be able to fight for them.

The Central Bank has a lot to handle and it is best not to interfere with its competence.

I stress that we unambiguously support strengthening the non-proliferation regime, without any exceptions, on the basis of international law.

Every head of state and government in the world is allowed to have his opinion and to voice it.

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.

We are marking the anniversary of the Arctic convoys.We really do consider members of the Arctic convoy to be heroes. This is true. I am not saying this as a fashion of speech.

I would like to inform you with great satisfaction of a new step forward on establishing partnership between Russia and Japan

The West's sanctions are not aimed at helping Ukraine, but at geo-politically pushing Russia back. They are foolish and are merely harming both sides.

We would like to draw the attention of our partners, of potential investors to the Russian Far East.

Russia hosts a lot of forums, including the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, [usually in the beginning of summer], as well as the Economic Forum in Sochi.

This is a region [ Far East] with a substantially developed transport and railroad infrastructure. In recent years we have been actively developing road connection.

There is also a huge potential for developing the aviation and space industries. As you might have noticed we have launched a new Russian spaceport in one of the Far Eastern regions.

In the referendum - which was still decided to take place by the Crimea's old parliament - the majority of citizens voted for belonging to Russia. This is democracy, the people's will.

To pay more is the easy way. In fact, the solution possibilities to the problem are many.

We have a professional relationship [with Chancellor Angela Merkel].2016 is the year of the German-Russian youth exchange, so the relations are moving on.

Napoleon once said that justice is the incarnation of God on Earth. I'm telling you: the reunification of Crimea and Russia is just.

Our intention is to develop music, theatre and exhibition activities on the Far Eastern regions.

Let us resolve the internal political problems of Russia ourselves

The goal we have set for ourselves, which is to diversify our cooperation with China, is making progress.

We understand that the Iranian position is very bad because of the well-known sanctions against that country, and it would be unfair to leave it on this sanction level.

Strictly speaking, Rosneft is not a company. Let us not forget that BP has a stake in Rosneft and BP is a British company.

No references to the need to fight terror can be an argument for restricting human rights.

We may have more control, but my point is that, strictly speaking, Rosneft is not a state company. I think that this is an obvious fact, as a foreign investor has a 19.7 percent stake in it.

Challenging American leadership is not at stake.

We are currently gradually stabilizing our economy.

In general, Gazprom is doing well and is increasing export in its traditional partner countries.

The aviation industry, including combat air force, has been traditionally developing here. It is the Russian Far East where the SU aircraft, which are well known worldwide, are manufactured.

Things are different in the international relations between states. In this respect, I am neither a friend, nor bride or groom [of the West].

How can a bureaucrat or a politician be trusted if he says loud words for the sake of Russia's good while trying to take his funds, his money abroad?

I hope that the responsible figures in the Ukrainian leadership will not hinder soldiers in the Ukrainian army from putting down their weapons.

Contractors always pursue large profit, the customer - a high-quality end product in due time and at a lower cost. This struggle never ends, but this is natural.

Of course one always has to follow international law. This was also the case in Crimea. According to the Charter of the United Nations, every people has the right to self-determination.

For me, it [Crimea] is not borders and state territories that matter, but people's fortunes.

We should cooperate much more closely in fighting terrorism, which is a great challenge.

If anybody,wants to get rid of us, then this is a different approach. However, we will get over it; you never know who is going to lose more with such an approach.

We always welcome when somebody says he or she is ready to work with Russia.

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.

Here is the thing: I have seen several times that anti-Russian cards are being played during domestic campaigns in the United States. I find this approach very short-sighted.

[Yasuhiro] Yamashita is a respected judo master not only in Japan but across the world. To me, he is an example of an outstanding athlete and a very good man.