Putin’s annual Q&A: 10 most compelling quotes

“The US is certainly one of the world’s leaders. At some point it seemed that it was the only leader and a uni-polar system was in place. Today it appears that is not the case. Everything in the world is interdependent and once you try to punish someone, in the end you will cut off your nose to spite your face,” he said.

RT

Ukraine’s crisis was, predictably, at the center of Vladimir Putin’s annual televised interview. He said the situation can only be solved through a compromise between internal players. Below are the president’s ten most significant quotes.

“[Yanukovich] didn’t have the heart to sign an act that would see force used against his citizens.”

Answering a question from an ex-Berkut - Ukrainian special forces - commander as to whether the ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has always been such a “weakling and traitor,” Putin said that Yanukovich did his duty as he thought was right, proper and necessary. 

“I spoke with him, certainly, many times, during the crisis, and after he arrived in the Russian Federation; we talked about using force… The gist of his answer was that he thought about using force many times, but he didn’t have the heart to sign an act that would see force used against his citizens,” Putin said.

“Faina Ivanovna, dear, what would you need Alaska for?”

Asked by a pensioner if Alaska could follow Crimea’s example, Putin said “We’re a northern country. 70 percent of our territory is in the North or Far North. Is Alaska in the southern hemisphere? It’s cold there as well. Let’s keep cool about it,” Putin said. 

According to Putin, he is also aware of the fact that some Russians call Alaska “Ice-Krym” (“Krym” is the Russian for Crimea). 

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