he talks about why he chose to run for the kremlin again and outlines the political and economic course he thinks is best for russia. good afternoon again good afternoon i'm open to your questions. is defeating the recent convention of the united russia party made the political situation in the country much clearer just a couple of weeks ago we had a chance to discuss that with russian president dmitry medvedev today we wanted to ask you the questions which we believe are of interest to a fellow citizens the first one was voiced both by your supporters and skeptics why are you returning to the kremlin rashid it's clear yeah i am aware of the wave of questions and comments in this regard that appeared on the internet in online and print media and here's what i would like to sing as i've mentioned many times and as first russian president but he's yeltsin said i never aspired to this position

it's a well known fact initially when this offer was made i explicitly expressed doubts over my ability to handle such a huge workload and enormous responsibility for the fate of the nation but once i take up a job i do my best to complete it or at least to yield maximum results. but there are people who as you mentioned the criticize me and dmitri may give they say that if your humble servant takes part in the election that would mean that there would be no election at all perhaps that would be the case for them but an ordinary citizen always has a choice to make so our critics might see it their own way but in this case they ought to present their platform and what's more important not only present it but also to prove in practice that they can do this job better there are others who say that we're in for a period of stagnation similar to the time when soviet leader lead to depression of was in power. i do not want to sound too critical there were indeed many achievements but in fact i do not recall any of the post-war soviet leaders who

would be as hardworking as myself or the incumbent president dmitri medvedev i don't remember any at. and you people you know they couldn't. they couldn't due to their physical condition and a lack of understanding of what needed to be done they might well have done something but they didn't have a clue or enough will for that we can also refer to the experience of other countries i didn't try to hold on to power and you know it perfectly well although i could have easily taken advantage of the constitutional majority of the ruling and i had russia party to amend the constitution but i stop short of that i didn't change the constitution to suit one man only myself i wanted people to see that there would be no tragedy in a natural change of power ok let's turn to other countries up to the end of the second world war the us didn't have any limits on the number of presidential terms mean only yes franklin d. roosevelt was elected three times four times or do it or prior to that in some u.s.

presidents ran for a third time but if i'm not mistaken none of the attempts was successful except for franklin roosevelt who was elected president four times running he stood at the helm throughout the or deals of economic depression and the second world war and was elected four times because his policies were effective. but the exact number of terms and years in power do not really matter it helmut kohl spent sixteen years in power in west germany he wasn't president but his post was actually the most important executive job in the country the same goes for one of the former canadian prime ministers another look at post-war france where a president could have been elected for seven years without a limit on the number of terms it was just recently that france introduced amendments into its constitution and cut it down to no more than two five year terms very similar to what we have in russia now what does that mean when a country is facing difficult and hard times when it's recovering from a crisis and getting back on its feet it's these pillars of stability including in

politics that play a vital role here and you actually. mr putin you talk a lot about stability but stability has its negative sides as it sometimes results in nation wide stagnation how do you feel about the lack of staff rotation in the government some ministers have not only produced g.b.'s results over their terms in office what they produced was a series of failures do you think the fact they are still in office might be a sign of a standstill in the country you know what it is you have their frequent reshuffles in the government or a sign of weakness they indicate that officials are either incapable or unwilling to accept personal responsibility they keep passing it around like a hot potato at the if you have to try everything you can to make an official work before you decide to dismiss him one more thing when we choose people for certain jobs we always try to make a good thought out choice does not always work out perfectly of course and in these cases we are forced to let people go this is true that the problem for some of it

is still the best way to avoid too much of a standstill in your staff policy is to get rid of some of your old allies who are no longer working efficiently your predecessors gorbachev and. they never hesitated to drop off the ballast but this is actually the reason why. politicians especially notable political figures are always essentially alone general the gold and winston churchill spoke of this do you perhaps feel the need to let go of some of the people you've been working with in past years alternatively will things go a different way which is perhaps easier to envision in russia with current kremlin residents moving to the white house and vice versa resulting in no changes if you're staying still so of course they're. there loneliness is not related to staff policy it has nothing to do with appointments and reshuffles it is there but let me tell you what causes it prominent political figures cannot let anyone near themselves they're not allowed to favor certain people over others their decisions

cannot be based on personal sympathies and they have to be based on the affectional impartial analysis and the will to take responsibility if at the same time we cannot go to extremes there has to be a degree of succession in power we cannot start by playing games we can't go and dismiss the parliament just because someone on television or some print journalist said we have to that would not be serious we have to look at the people who are making their third or fourth attempt to resolve problems they've been working on and if they're tired but their performance was adequate we have to find some other place where they can apply their efforts talent and experience once their positions are open we bring in new people with fresh ideas and motivation to implement all of this is what we're planning to do we have a lot to learn from the great politicians you mentioned they each had plenty of experience in politics i would even say they were philosophers as well as politicians de gaulle had a lot of different sayings he's one of my favorite figures in politics you are professionally connected to france so you might know the saying of his always

choose the hardest way that you'll never find rivals there or through them. mr putin western countries did not react strongly to your decision to run for president at the upcoming elections they said it was russia's internal affair and and as. america put it they were ready to work with any legitimately elected president you must understand however that politically western states consider you a hawk how do you feel about that and what is going to happen to the recess of russian u.s. relations which exists as an idea but there is not many signs that it's working. yes well the hawk is a good bird but you are certainly no dove. i am a man and i do not like cliches our foreign policy in the past and today was thought out and aimed at creating a favorable environment for russia's development this means we want to have friendly relations with all of our partners that naturally we have and always will

defend our national interests but we have always been regard full of others when we did it and we plan to maintain that in future with it till it ok. mr person you just mentioned the economy and the crisis it looks like there is another storm brewing stock markets are tumbling and people say there is only so much the traders themselves can do about it emerging markets are losing capital the same is true about russia i recently read an article that said the government needed a new program to counter the next crisis a program that would be like a good skirt on a girl short and offering an attractive perspective supposedly that would help win back businesses trust and stop the crisis does your government have such a program. that. you know if we keep talking about the fall of stock market indexes they might never recover russia will grow by four percent this year which is satisfactory china will grow by nine percent which is a good result we have to push for six to seven percent economic growth we managed

to deliver that in the pre-crisis years and we will try to do it again as i have said before we will of course try to make our economy more open and there are fears however especially in the light of russia's w t o accession that opening of too much might harm it returning to your metaphor a short skirt looks. some women while others are better off wearing something else . a longer skirt. yes other clothes from that point of view i believe we have managed to make ourselves safe from unpleasant surprises as we negotiated on russia's w t o x session essentially entire branches of russia's economy are going through a long transition period i will say it again however we only need make our final decision when all of the failsafe clauses that we might need to protect our economic interests at one point or another are in place in the search what would be a good percentage for united russia in these elections but there it is you're trying to get

a political forecast out of me. that it's causing i'm not asking for any numbers i just ask you what result you would be satisfied with you there is here united russia has to remain the leading political party in the country and the parliament that would be a good result. but what if there is a way thank you very much for this talk mr putin i believe we are finished for today i said thank you.

her. blood. tests are least some. legs. pick us. up. if. he.

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headlines tonight from our team police moved in to move occupy protesters all actions taken against the tent camps in seattle of the criticism that america's media is failing to explain what's really driving people on the street. nato forces in southern cross the extend the deadline by one day for ethnic serbs to remove the barricades near border checkpoints or threatening to do it themselves. and new wave of anger erupts in syria against an arab league decision not to suspend the country from the organization. this is our team sport. welcome to the. tragic crash tributes pouring in as british driver dan

wheldon dies or thirty three. in las vegas in the three hundred. eight men out injuring it says going to miss several key players as they. just grab zones for crunch champions league match. and three is the andy murray unseats roger federer to go out in the world rankings of the khinjan and how tricky titles can take shanghai. but first tributes are pouring in for two time indy car champion down weldon has died at the age of thirty three and horrific crash during the last race of the season in las vegas fifteen cars were involved in the pileup in the first ever fatal shooting at the circuits forty year history despite drivers expressing fears about the speed of the track english when the world was at the back of the pack and was working his way through the thirty four car field bots just minutes into the race two calls touched and weld and

couldn't avoid the pileup which was devastating two cars were airborne including weldon's which flew over another vehicle and landed in a catch fence top of the screen during practice drivers had raised concerns about the pace of the las vegas track with speeds topping three hundred sixty kilometers per hour and this crash took nearly half the cars well then was airlifted to hospital but died from his injuries two hours later he leaves a wife and two young sons the race was counselled although drivers returned to the track to give a five lap tribute to the driver wells and have moved from england's to america to follow his racing dream and have won the indy five hundred for a second time in may he was also in line for a fight. million dollar payout if we won this race and i drive us have been paying their respects. you know we can put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships and it's what we love to do. and it's what we live for and then the

days like today doesn't really matter you know we we lost you i lost we lost a good friend i think everybody in indy car series. considered dan a friend and you saw the reaction here is one of those. special special people this is a very just war at all. which was that every day in the normal life as well but. you know you don't think about it. you have think about it. for four or my best friends. well let's move on to football and to sky will have to make do with a much depleted bench for their vital champions league match in moscow on tuesday as none of the russian clubs injured players will be fit in time for the home game against turkish side clubs sensible japan midfielder ok city honda and findus victor vassal and other shinnick of are among those still sidelined despite resuming training however the long injury list has taken its toll and those who are

worth it as many of the first team are also regulars in dekalb because russia squad to scour wrong bottoming group they with just one point from the two i think games so a win against surprise leaders tribes and spall you have four points is paramount and could give the army men a much sought after morale boost following saturday's disappointing to all domestic draw at home to wreck. much of. you don't forget matches like this one easily but next to face a very important task which is a must win game in the champions league so we have to raise our spirits and win on tuesday is the perfect way of doing that. well elsewhere english league leaders manchester city are in a similar position to taste gone ahead of their home game against israel in group play a month union side have taken just one point from two games and have selection problems up front with mario balotelli suspended and big summer signings struggling with a growing injury but i am bringing up the rear with zero points in group a but city

manager about the month cheney still expects a stern test. to be added because they play for the world very well but for us it is very important thing that is not important if we play away or not or not well it's important that we win this game and that in that if we win this game may be after the printer there are issues that come from. munich unable but after i think that we care if we win we can we know survival is possible we have a chance at the. group the lead israel madrid will put their leading position on the line with a host french side lead on to. day the visitors are two points behind so could propel themselves into the driver's seat if they win at the bone about. one of just three teams with a one hundred percent record so far in the group stages but manager jersey marino is not afraid to lose it. it's not easy to win every game in the champions league so it will be no great drama if we don't get it when the results were top a maximum points which makes us the best place team to win the group but first of

all we have to qualify and only after that will think about winning the group. well meanwhile in the russian premier league rubin won three nil a time to sponsor moscow on sunday to gain a confidence boosting victory ahead of thursday's europa league clash that saw them well winning because and came despite a long injury list and has moved the home side up to sixth in the table but they have managed to get the lead through christian about eight minutes into the second half. and just four minutes later alexander is unsafe found himself unlocked in the box to make it to no deep into stoppage time we were just not show it finished off the resoundingly by adding a third so three mail it finished to rubin who are now just a point behind spotlight. meanwhile looking at cvs charge at the table also continues the moscow side and now four after beating ten man bottom side tom three nil at home to go eleven games unbeaten since the

arrival of manager jersey couso in july well said he had opened from the spot twenty minutes in after overdue than i was sent off for a second jello card and eleven minutes after the break denise majette cough made it to nil. and then dimitri search of quickly wrap things up come to be held on three male. just five points of top spot. me one car surprised to ban after wrapping up a comprehensive three one. victory in. love which i can for the horse just when it's in. yours if there's a bitch made it to you know just before the hour. and then we can eat it better stuff the home side train a lot was a quarter of an hour left the visitors did net a consolation with an injury time effort from the book called but it was three

useful points from a cocky rise to eleventh combat slip below rubin to seven. and finally on sunday second bottom spot at no chicks that's a dramatic loss for his equaliser to draw one morning to big spending on shane about the soufan had given the visitors the lead off a defensive fluke but approaching the half hour mark. struck into the right time of dying seconds to stamp the fact. that over england also are up to ten in the premier league after two on women home to sunderland robin van persie is full of the fastest goal of the premier league season so far off to just twenty nine seconds but the gunners ahead sebastian lawson levelled off a half an hour but find percy met in the late twenty's as an james's bod newcastle remain on great enough to substitute cheryl i mean if he starts to leighton call isaac to help them go to tea with tottenham while a goal in their child from chris brown's and peter at the west front page a first i would look at the season with

a two no time victory over walls in the back country dalby to rise out of the relegation zone and up to twelve. we have one. choice if you like to open the other killed it was also noise to get a clean sheet at leisure but for. three clean sheets which. is posted last year that also is another positive for. last year when you know three from a which is a much better statistic if we can. tennis now russia's biggest tournament is the kremlin cup is underway here in moscow with local vera chef and providing the first upsets in the women's draw to the five year old muscovites dumped out about. seven and follow its value sorry and also made in the exit to the stadium. it is not about is the top seeded player here in moscow

and cost effective for. the. finals last year this year it was a very consistent year for me in. that i lost. a. really well for all the season i didn't really have bad matches throughout the whole season. so i had a very consistent year no matter what and i think i'm pretty satisfied about it. well over in the men's game a target is being fulfilled for andy murray as the red hot scot as acid roger federer as well number three murray achieved his goal for the season after clinching his third straight asian title in shanghai on sunday while it's the first time in eight years that sixteen time grand slam winner federer has been ranked outside the world's top three the thirty year olds were smarter widely regarded as the best player of all time super serve novak djokovic is still the runaway leader with rafael nadal second spain's david ferrer completes the top five. funny as

a golfer on the p.g.a. tour ben crane has won the mcleod last week in training fashion after coming back from seven shots down with eleven holes left to play to beat webb simpson in a playoff well craig produced a run of seven burgess to tie with simpson on fifteen under par at the end of the final round so he went to a play off simpson looked to be in trouble on the first hole but produced a great effort to the sounds of the pair then went to a second extra hole that crane potted for part some pressure on simpson back nerves got the better of him and he missed this part and crane victory. making headlines on the european so was britain's twenty year old tom lewis the portugal masters was only his third tournament since turning refreshment but he won it finishing two shots clear of rafael capital below luis have grabbed the

attention of the golfing well earlier this year at the open then he took sixty five for the most opening round ever by an amateur at the event and his approach to having a very easy career of happening after beating tiger woods record the quickest when that's all. and that's all the sport by for now.

wealthy british style it's time to. market. scandal. find out what's really happening to the global economy cause a report on. this

is art see you tonight police move in to move occupy protesters all actions taken against the. criticism of america's media failing to explain what's really driving people on to the streets. nato forces in northern cost of extend the deadline for ethnic serbs to remove the barricades and a border checkpoint so they say they'll do it themselves. a new wave of anger erupts in syria against an arab league decision not to suspend the country from the organization. of the un lives hanging by a thread on the postcode lottery which was russian kids suffering a red genetic disorder i left to die if they put me in the wrong place. and direct foreign investment group by twenty percent.