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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to begin by asking a question. Can you believe that we are here, this far south in Africa? And did you know that the area of Namibia is equivalent to the area of Ukraine and Belarus combined? Whereas population density is equivalent to that of Mongolia.

Reply: You’ve been doing your homework.

Dmitry Medvedev: Of course I have.

Question: We also did some homework.

Our country has a history of relations with African nations. Before, there had been some talk of providing non-repayable aid. How would you formulate Russia’s current policy in this respect? How advantageous are these contacts? And naturally, we would be interested in hearing about your first impressions of Africa itself.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you.

Our policy on these matters will be very friendly, but at the same time, pragmatic. Let me remind you that the Russian Federation, like its predecessor, the Soviet Union, has always held a very friendly position toward African nations. We have always helped them in gaining their independence and fighting to create their own states.

At the same time, we do not have a painful, sombre colonial history, unlike many European countries. We do not have such a history, and I think that, to an extent, this also shapes African countries’ relations toward our nation.

Indeed, in recent years, there have been some changes in how things have developed. Our foreign policy has taken shape. In the 1990s, we gave less attention to faraway continents such as Africa and Latin America, but now, it is our obligation to do so. These nations are kindred spirits, and we have indeed provided them with aid. They are fast-developing nations, but at the same time, they have many problems. It is no coincidence that Africa always comes up during talks at G8 summits (in an expanded format), G20 summits, and other platforms as an issue that demands a rapid and adequate response from the global community and from individual countries. This includes assistance programmes and other projects.

As for my current visit to Africa, which is not yet finished, it bears historic overtones and carries a fairly pragmatic agenda, because we have separate, positive commercial programmes with every country we’ve visited. I am not going to give any names now, since there has been coverage on this matter, but I will say that major Russian companies which are interested in investment development and would like to do business are already present in Africa. Take a look at our major players, which include both state and private companies: Gazprom, ALROSA, NOVATEK, and many other companies that are currently participating in the establishment of industries in Africa, which have contracted either factories or deposits. And clearly, this is not charity work, but rather, the development of businesses whose goal is to be profitable, but which are also advantageous for our African partners. I feel that we need more projects of this kind.

There is currently a great deal of interest in Africa, and there are representatives here from all the major international players. The People’s Republic of China, the United States, and the European Union are working actively here. Are we any worse? We must do the same, especially since we have many close, trusted friends whom we have truly helped and who are ready to develop relations with us, not through a strictly charitable agenda, but on a mutually beneficial basis. This is something that we will certainly work on.

As for my own personal impressions, they are quite strong and powerful, since this is my first time in Africa, and this continent can’t help but impress visitors with its vastness and its variations in climate, cultures, and traditions. We have travelled from Egypt in the north of Africa and the Middle East to the southern part of the continent. We have crossed the equator and we have gone from a hot summer to a winter that is cold by local standards – it is only 20 degrees Celsius during the day, and temperatures drop as low as just zero degrees at night. I think that many of us may not have been prepared for this, including myself. In the evening, I might need to go out in my suit, but it’s cold out, zero degrees.

Clearly, though, this just goes to show the unique opportunities that exist in Africa. But at the same time, you come to see how many problems exist here. Look at the figures often brought up on hunger (perhaps some people have become numb to them). They are horrifying and saddening. A child dies of hunger every five seconds and there is an enormous amount of infectious diseases that are very difficult to fight. And Africa awaits our support. There are many people living here, and they, too, have the right to a normal life.

Wealthier countries are obligated to pay back their debts to Africa, not in the form of basic aid (although that is also necessary), but rather, by developing various institutions and creating a variety of companies. If this gets done, then Africa will become one of the most actively-developing continents on the planet, internal conflicts will cease, many conflicts will be resolved, and development will become stable. We are very much counting on it.

Question: Your trip to Africa and your speech in Cairo followed the speech by US President Barack Obama in Cairo, which drew a very positive response. After the G8 summit, Barack Obama will return to Africa once again.

Does your visit imply that Russia is determined to compete seriously with the United States for Africa’s resources? And are we too late in our return to Africa? What advantages do we have in competing with the United States and China?

Dmitry Medvedev: To answer your question on being late, I can tell you honestly that we are almost too late. We should have begun working with our African partners earlier, especially since our ties remained continuous with many of them, representing decades of developing friendly relations.

Yesterday, we were in Nigeria. Our diplomatic ties with that nation have existed for nearly fifty years. We have maintained relations with Namibia’s leading political party – SWAPO – which fought for the country’s independence, for forty years.

As for competition, I do not think that there should be any competition between countries, but it is quite clear that there should be competition between companies. Competitiveness is the driving force of human progress. Those who provide the best conditions, including economic conditions, will succeed. We do not feel jealous when we see our partners visiting Africa, but at the same time, we would also like to promote our own interests here; we would like to advance Russian companies. This is normal for any government. It is probably good that more attention is being given to this continent, and it will most likely help Africa overall. I think the fact that the President of the United States is making several visits to Africa will work to the benefit of Africa itself.

But I want to emphasise again that we would like to see a significant share of Russian companies in the African market. We have all the historic background and economic conditions necessary for this.

Question: I have a brief personal question. We have all seen a lot of very different welcoming ceremonies. What did you think of today’s ceremony, with all its dances?

Dmitry Medvedev: I was just about ready to join them, but in the end, knowing that this is a state visit, I held back. I asked the President of Namibia if we could dance. He answered “Yes,” but he himself didn’t dance, so I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it, although the dancers’ energy was really contagious.

This may be an element of national character, and we may see it as somewhat exotic. But at the same time, it demonstrates cultural diversity. Even in a country with a relatively small population, such as Namibia, there are many different ethnic groups with different, sometimes independent cultures.

As we travel through Africa, we see a variety of different cultures, beliefs, ways of life, and different customs, all on one continent. Africa is very diverse, and that may be the key conclusion that stems from one’s first visit here. Our perception of Africa – created by well-known Russian children’s authors who wrote, “Children, don’t go promenading through Africa” – is that it is a uniform continent. But in fact, it is very different from place to place. In some places, it is very rich; in others, it is devastatingly poor. The climate is very different, and the people are very different. And at the same time, there exists a kind of self-awareness, a sense of identifying oneself as an inhabitant of the African continent. In my opinion, this is a good thing.QUESTION: Recently, there have been reports that Kyrgyzstan and the United States signed an agreement on the use of the Manas Air Base. Could you comment on this agreement? How do you perceive its prospects?

Dmitry Medvedev: Naturally, this agreement is fully within Kyrgyzstan’s rights. At the same time, I must mention that a little while ago, the President of Kyrgyzstan came to the Russian Federation; we met before the SCO summit and discussed issues regarding joint anti-terrorism efforts, including issues of assisting freight transfers. This is something that our American partners have requested. We made our decisions a long time ago; we are helping our partners, other Central Asian countries are helping, and Kyrgyzstan is willing to do this. That is fine, I think this is for the common good; it helps the joint fight against terrorism.

But aside from that, my understanding of the decisions made by the President of Kyrgyzstan and the Kyrgyz parliament was that for various reasons, their military base would cease operations, while new operations in assisting freight transfers would take place elsewhere, without resorting to any kind of immunity inherent to military personnel, and without the presence of a large number of military men, using mainly civilian personnel. Thus, this operation will be very similar to the one we are carrying out, which also assists freight transfers to help the fight against terrorism. That is how I understand it.

Question: In the statement you made in the Hague, you said that we are ready for a significant reduction in the number of strategic warheads and missiles. What would you say is the maximum limit for these types of reductions?

And another question. Russia firmly monitors the coordination of strategic nuclear forces and ballistic missile defence. The Americans have already rejected this coordination. Do you think that you will be able to find some kind of compromise on this issue during your meeting?

Dmitry Medvedev: I would like to make just one small correction. We talked about this issue in Amsterdam, not in the Hague; although these cities are close to one another, they are, as you know, not the same.

Now, getting back to the latter part of your question: for the moment, nobody has closed any doors. And despite the fact that I made this statement, and that an expanded version of it has been published, we are continuing to discuss these topics with our American partners ahead of my colleague Barack Obama’s visit. This includes discussions on coordinating issues of ballistic missile defence and limiting strategic offensive weapons.

As for the maximum limit in reductions, this matter is still under discussion, but in order for our colleagues and you yourselves to have a better idea of what we are talking about, I specifically outlined some parameters. For warheads, it is lower than what is provided for in the corresponding Moscow Treaty [the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, or SORT]. For missiles, we area ready to make a fairly decisive, large-scale reduction, cutting them down to a fraction of what we have now.

But this matter is still under discussion, so I do not feel it right to go into detail about it right now. Still, the comments I just made should allow you to get a sense of the figures in question, after some simple calculations. All of the analysts have already done so.

Question: I want to come back to the situation at home, in Ingushetia. The region has seen a number of tragic events in general of late. What role do you think the neighbouring republics can play in stabilising the situation in Ingushetia and in the region in general? How do you think the situation will develop there?

Dmitry Medvedev: What happened in Ingushetia, including the attack on President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, is a continuation of terrorist activities carried out by the remnants of bandit groups that are in part sponsored from abroad. This sounds like a routine explanation, but this is the way it is.

Our policy in this area remains unchanged (I stated it when I was in Dagestan) – we need to be pitiless in exterminating them [the bandits]. But this is a combat that must be fought through a variety of means. Of course, the entire country is interested in this combat’s success, especially the republics in this in this region that still has its share of problems. This includes Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachayevo-Cherkesia – all the Caucasus republics. We therefore all need to unite in order to rid ourselves of this disease for once and for all.

These kinds of operations are underway now. Why did these bandits attack Yevkurov after all? Because he was taking real action – starting to build up relations with the republic’s elite and establishing dialogue with the moderate opposition, not with thugs, of course. He began carrying out joint operations together with neighbouring Chechnya and its head, Ramzan Kadyrov. These operations were a big success. I will not list all that was achieved and how many bandits were eliminated, but the figures are impressive and are public knowledge.

It is my view, therefore, that we need to continue this work just as resolutely and effectively as has been the case recently. But at the same time, we need to learn from what has happened and take a new look around, analyse the situation. This work will continue. This is a task for the whole country, of course, and in particular for the regions of the Caucasus.

Question : Mr President, many people are looking to you for new anti-corruption initiatives. Is there a basis for these expectations and what possible steps could we hope to see in this area?

Dmitry Medvedev: This is a good question. I will not list the results achieved so far or announce what kinds of operations are planned, because there are a lot of details regarding planned operations that it is better not to divulge in this way. After all, the fight against corruption is part of the fight against crime. It is not just about dealing with individual civil servants who have failed in their duties or take bribes. It is a fight against crime. Corruption is a serious crime, and this needs to be uppermost in our minds.

But as far as our current plans are concerned, we have work to complete in several areas regarding the package of anti-corruption measures that were drawn up and approved on my initiative last year and this year.

In particular, work is underway on drafting a presidential executive order on checking the information civil servants provide to the tax authorities on their income, assets, means of transport and other items they have to declare. We did not think up these rules so that people could make a report and then just keep doing what they have always done. We know our people’s quick-witted nature and sense of cunning, and we know that people can always find a way to hide things if they want. This is why there has to be at least a selective check of these declarations to make a comparison between people’s real and declared assets and income.

I think this is important work, but we need to operate within a strict legal framework and respect human rights at the same time. Civil servants are people too and have all the rights accorded by the Constitution. We need to work effectively and achieve results. This is something we need to do, but this is just a part of our efforts in this area. There will be other measures too.

Question: Coming back to Africa, yesterday, during the discussion on the Trans-Sahara gas pipeline, the Gazprom representative said that they will build the first main gas pipeline, and we heard the words: “whoever is on the valves is the king”. Could you comment on Russia’s plans in this respect? Is Russia perhaps looking to control gas supplies from Nigeria to Europe, and is there not the danger of something like the Ukrainian situation emerging in Africa?

Dmitry Medvedev: This is a good question. As far as the words you quoted go, every point of view has its right to exist, no doubt, but I think these words are not entirely correct, because even our recent experience with Ukraine shows that whoever controls the bolt is still a long way from controlling the whole situation. There are obligations and international reputation to keep in mind, and there is money too, whether in the form of payments made or of debts unsettled. And so I would say these words send out a one-sided and even primitive sort of message.

But as far as big projects go, including the Trans-Sahara gas pipeline, yes, this is an area in which the Russian Federation is interested. We are interested in these projects not because we want to control the bolts and valves and run the show, so to speak. We have enough affairs of our own to manage at home. Africa has its own specific situation, and we have great respect for the sovereignty African countries have achieved. We helped them in every way we could to achieve this sovereignty, and they do not need us to sort out their affairs. We are ready to help them in the United Nations, help them in reforming the UN itself, and we are ready to work on a bilateral basis.

But this is an area of natural interest to Russia because we are the world’s biggest gas producer. We have the longest gas pipeline network, the longest pipelines, and the greatest experience in building and operating gas pipelines. Therefore, when we offer our services this is not a means of political domination — it is business as usual. We will continue to work in this way, and not just in Africa. This is an area we are familiar with, and an area of interest to our country.

Thank you. I wish you all a good rest. Take care not to catch cold, because the temperature drops quickly here, and be careful with animals. All the best!