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Putin Answers Questions on Internet
Larry James, Voice of America President Vladimir Putin answered dozens of questions from Russians and people around the world during a live question and answer session Tuesday on the Internet. The questions ranged from the war in Chechnya and the future of democratic reforms in Russia to Mr. Putin's personal life. One of the first issues Mr. Putin addressed during the hour-long webcast was his commitment to democracy. He said that as far as he is concerned Russia has no alternative but to continue democratic development and a market economy. He said that as long as he remains head of state, Russia will stick to democratic principles. We will develop the political structure of the society, he said, and put state institutions under society's control. Mr. Putin also said he believes that any democratic society must be based on law and said he will continue to work to improve Russia's courts and legal system. Mr. Putin was asked about the allegations of widespread human rights abuses by Russian forces in the war in Chechnya. He responded that Russia is not waging a war on the Chechen people and that the Russian army has been forced to respond to what he called extremists and international terrorists who attacked Russian territory. Mr. Putin touched on one of the current areas of disagreement with the United States when he warned that if Washington withdraws from the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty, then a number of international security agreements will, as he put it, fall apart. Russia firmly opposes U.S. plans for a national missile defense system, which the Kremlin has said is not necessary as well as a violation of the anti-ballistic missile treaty. The Russian leader also expressed the hope that Russia will one day be a full-fledged part of Europe but he said conditions are not yet right for that to happen. In the meantime, he said, he is satisfied with the current relations between Russian and the European Union. The webcast was hosted by two Russian Internet news sites, Strana.RU and Gazeta.RU, along with the BBC. Journalists from all three organizations posed several questions along with the thousands of e-mails from the general public, which had been sent to all three sites prior to the event. Many of the questioners wanted to know how Mr. Putin plans to solve problems in the impoverished provinces, some of which have struggled through recent harsh Russian winters without adequate heat. Though widely available in Russia's major cities, access to the Internet is still a relatively expensive proposition that is used primarily by the better-educated and by young people. Most Russians will learn what their president had to say on the television news.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
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