Putin speaks of communicating with Georgia at 15th annual press conference
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, December 20
Russian President Vladimir Putin held 15th annual press conference yesterday. He was asked about the road construction connecting Russia to Georgia via Chechnya that, according to the journalist would resolve strategic issues. President answered that even though it’s a good idea and can be implemented, such initiative is not among the projects of Russian Ministry of Transport.
“There is a problem in communicating with Georgia, especially in winter when everything is covered with snow. What you said is a good idea, but it is not included in the practical projects of the Ministry of Transport. However, I repeat, this idea is well-known and in principle it is feasible,” said Putin.
One month before this interview, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Republic of Chechnya spoke of the necessity of constructing the road through the Argun Gorge, calling the implementation of this idea a 'matter of time.'
Kadyrov said it takes 40-50 minutes to travel from Georgia to the Chechen village of Itum-kale, from where you will reach Europe via Turkey.
“Therefore, I think soon we should open this way and build relations with our neighbors, in particular with Georgia,” said Kadyrov.
The Chechnya leader expressed hope that there will be found people among Georgian authorities who know “how we lived and how our ancestors lived.”
The Georgian authorities do not support the construction of a road linking Russia with Chechnya.
President Putin also spoke about the question regarding Zelimkhan Khangoshvili. “We see that these people, terrorists, are freely walking in the capitals of Europe,” he said.
The journalist reminded the president of his words that the Russian side had raised the issue of Khangoshvili's transfer, as well as the statement of German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer that there had been no demand from the Russian side.
When asked who is right - Vladimir Putin or the German Interior Minister, Putin replied that both of them were right, as these issues were discussed at the intelligence level.
“There was no official request from the prosecutor's office because our competent authorities thought it would be useless since it was made clear that the answer would be in the negative. I would like to remind you again of what I said at a press conference in Paris. He was a bloody killer. He killed 98 people in just one rally in the Caucasus. Think about this figure. Many countries declare universal mourning on figures even less than that. He was involved in the organization of the Moscow Metro bombing, and this is not a complete list,” stated Putin.
He noted that Russia has repeatedly raised the issue of Khangoshvili at the level of the intelligence services.
Putin noted that the most important thing to realize in this area is that cooperation must be full-fledged and bilateral.
“We are now watching what is happening in Syria, in camps and prisons where Islamic State fighters are sitting. Most of them are from Middle Asia, Russia is second, but there are from Western Europe, French, German as well. We see these people, terrorists, walking freely in European capitals. As far as I know, he was killed directly in downtown Berlin. Such a man walked around freely in one of the European capitals. Would you like it if the people who are in camps came to you? Would you let them walk freely in the streets?” asked Putin.
He said that, to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to work together with high efficiency, noting that the level of such works is not big enough. President also remembered the case of Tsarnaev, when Russia asked Americans to transfer him. He recalled that Russia’s warnings were ignored and he carried out a terrorist attack in Boston.
Georgian citizen Khangoshvili, 40, was killed in the German capital on August 23. Within days German police arrested a 49-year-old Russian citizen. On December 4, Germany expelled 2 Russian diplomats. The reason is Khangoshvili's murder. The German government believes that the Russian authorities are involved in the killing. Russia denies the allegation.
It’s noteworthy that Russia declared 2 employees of the German embassy as a persona non grata.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin also discussed the killing of Khangoshvili at a bilateral meeting within the framework of the Normandy Summit in Paris. In response to a question at a joint news conference, Angela Merkel expressed hope that the Russian side would cooperate with the investigation.
Vladimir Putin has cited Khangoshvili as a murderer and one of the organizers of the terrorist act in the Moscow metro.
