Interfax: Spokesman sings praises to Putin at forum reviewing 15 years of his rule

(Interfax – Moscow, March 31, 2015)

The Russian president’s press secretary, Dmitriy Peskov, believes that the more the Russian leader defends the country’s interests in the world, the more he comes under attack from the West.

“Let me remind you words by Putin himself, who said that in the case of any leader of our country, the more dogged he is in promoting our country’s interests, the more dogged he is in the defence of our country’s rights in the international arena, the more he is demonized in the world, and there is no information technology that can do anything about that,” the press secretary said.

He also said that a club of world leaders who do now know “what is a Russia without Putin” had emerged. “And they are starting to get used to Russia being very tough in defending its interests and are starting to understand that Russia, with Putin as its leader, will continue doing so,” the press secretary said.

He said that “an entire generation of young people has grown up in Russia who do not know what the Soviet Union is, who do not know the horror of the 90s, and who have grown up as a Putin generation”. “And the overwhelming majority of such young people find a use for themselves in our country. They know what to do and are ready to work. And they consolidate around Putin, which is what the statistics say,” the press secretary said.

Peskov said that “the Russian president, for his part, has an absolutely solid and comprehensive base needed to continue his undertakings and perhaps compensate for some things that have not been implemented in full”.

“The president’s high approval ratings are, of course, a huge responsibility. It is precisely on Putin, rather than anyone else, that these people are pinning their hopes and readiness to work in order to rectify the situation. That is why this is a responsibility, which Putin has never been afraid of, and an excellent opportunity, which, again, he has never wasted either,” Peskov said.

[featured image is file photo]