Official website of the President of Russia

Transcripts   /

Prime Minister of Britain Anthony Blair: Good Morning everyone. Can I say how delighted I am to have this opportunity to introduce President Putin, who is going to make an award to those that helped with the rescue of the Russian submersible off the Kamchatka Peninsula on 7 August, and I think it is very good and very kind of you to come and make this presentation today, and I know those that were engaged in the rescue are deeply honoured by the way that you are honouring them today, and once again can I say how much it indicates the cooperation between our two countries today. And let me also give my personal thanks to the men for what you did, because I know it was difficult, it was necessary, and as you can see from the President's presence here today, deeply appreciated by our Russian colleagues.

President Vladimir Putin: Dear friends! Allow me to address you in precisely these terms.

It is my honour to present you with state awards of the Russian Federation. I would like to thank you for your work, for the mission that you carried out in Russia to rescue our seamen.

The operation was rapid, professional and, most important, successful. In this respect, I would like to recall that this year we celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of victory over Nazism together. We in Russia still remember very well the magnificent heroism displayed by British seamen during the northern convoys. It gives me pleasure to see that today too you have made a great contribution to supporting and expanding our cooperation and are carrying on the traditions that been built up between our countries over the course of many, many years.

Thank you.

Anthony Blair: Perhaps I can just very briefly, at the end of the UK-Russia Summit, just say these few words. First of all, this has been an immensely constructive meeting with President Putin and with his colleagues. The relationship between Britain and Russia today is strong and strengthening further. Today of course we discussed the trade and business relationships between our two countries, in particular the contribution being made by companies like BP and Shell in the energy sector, but also many other companies too. The relationship between our two countries in respect of the energy policy of this country for the future is extremely important, and that was very clear from our conversations today, and we value Russia as a stable and effective partner for us in that energy policy for the future.

But secondly, we have just come from a meeting where we discussed issues to do with security and terrorism. Russia and the Russian people, like Britain and the British people, know the threat that this global terrorism poses. But we also share the same spirit of determination not to be defeated by it. We had actually a fascinating discussion just now about the dangers and the risks that are posed to us and we agreed to work closely together on counter-terrorism for the future. And I would like to thank the President personally for his strong support on this issue.

So thank you very much Vladimir for having come here to Downing Street today. I have really enjoyed the meetings we have had in the past couple of days.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. I already had the opportunity of saying and would like to say once again now that relations between our countries have reached a very high level indeed over recent years. It is enough to note that our bilateral trade has risen by 59 percent over the last six months. Not only are British companies buying our oil, they have entered an entirely new stage in cooperation and are now producing oil on Russian Federation territory. We are talking here of vast investment and noticeable influence on the world energy market and, of course, in Britain and Russia. What we discussed with the Prime Minister and his colleagues today will be important not only for the present, but will have a positive impact on our cooperation for the next 7–10–15 years to come.

We have good cooperation mechanisms in place in other areas too, including in the high-tech sectors. We both understand the global threats we face today, including the threat of terrorism. Russia is most satisfied with the outcome and the course of our meetings. We are, of course, also grateful for the openness shown by our British colleagues, including with regards to sensitive areas. We have seen an example of this openness in the discussions we just had on cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

The Prime Minister is making use of every opportunity, even getting the members of his family involved in developing Russian-British relations. His wife, Cherie, is currently in Moscow. I hope that we here in London have also done some good work. Thank you.