By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that he expects Russian-Chinese trade to reach $200 billion by the end of the year.
"In the previous period, we had 32% growth in trade, which is very good. There is every reason to believe that we will reach the $200 billion mark by the end of the year," Putin said in an interview with the China Media Group.
The Russian president praised Russian-Chinese relations, saying they "have been shaped for 20 years in a careful, phased-out manner."
"At each step, the Russian and Chinese sides have both guided themselves by their own national interests as they understood them. While encouraging the other side to take the next step, both have always taken into account each other’s opinions and interests. We have always tried to reach a compromise, even on complicated issues inherited from the old days," he said.
Putin also noted that Russian-Chinese relations "are a fundamental factor" in maintaining global stability.
- Belt Road Initiative
Putin called China's flagship Belt Road Initiative (BRI) project a "success," noting that it involves 147 countries and two-thirds of the world's population in its implementation.
"So I think this is already a success, this is a good, correct, and technologically organized initiative that is developing," he emphasized.
According to him, the Eurasian Economic Union and Central Asian economic bloc, which include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, received $24 billion in investments as a result of the cooperation within the BRI.
"So we welcome this initiative by President Xi Jinping, we are working together, we are ready and we will continue to work together," he said.
- West’s ‘colonial approach’
Commenting on "rule-based order," promoted by the West, Putin said it is a continuation of the "colonial approach."
"Have you ever seen those rules? No, you haven’t because no one has agreed on them... But it is advantageous to those who advocate for this approach. Because if no one has seen the rules, it only means that those who talk about them are making them up from time to time to their own advantage. That is the colonial approach," he stressed.
Colonial countries have always believed that they are "first-rated people," which means that all other people are "second-rate" to them, he emphasized.
"Those are mere vestiges of colonial thinking, nothing else," he said.
- Ukrainian peace settlement
Putin said Russia highly evaluates China's peace initiative on the Ukraine issue and considers it "realistic," seeing it as a good foundation for future peace agreements.
The problem is that the opposing side does not want to enter into any negotiations, he asserted.
"The President of Ukraine (Volodymyr Zelenskyy) has even issued a decree prohibiting everyone – including himself – to conduct any negotiations with us. How can we conduct negotiations if they are unwilling to do so and have even issued a regulation prohibiting such negotiations?" he questioned.
If the Ukrainian side is willing to start peace talks, the first step is to revoke the decree and express willingness to negotiate, he noted.
"We are ready, including on the basis of the proposals by our Chinese friends," he said.