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LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky: Mr President, thank you very much for the meeting.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Slutsky, we are in touch in general – we meet regularly at different events, but separate meetings are always needed, partly because of the current situation in the country.

Leonid Slutsky: Thank you once again.

Mr President, it was hard to see the New Year in without Vladimir Zhirinovsky. At the same time, the party is growing stronger and bigger – there are almost 350,000 of us, including 1,500 volunteers that actively worked in the new territories before they received this status.

Since the first days, we wholeheartedly supported the special military operation. Now we have taken under our wing the sewing battalions – the “Sewing for our people” movement. There are thousands of these devoted women sewing camouflage nets, balaclava helmets and jackets. These women are helping to save our men, their health and lives at the frontline just as they are helping to save us.

Of course, today I am grateful to you for this opportunity to report on some of the ideas of our parliamentary party. They are not revolutionary or breakthrough. Today, people do not need a breakthrough. They need common sense and a constructive position. If it is constructive, it should not remain an opposition view but be closer to people’s needs to resolve problems that we are really facing every day.

Our ideas sometimes sound modest. We believe it is necessary to introduce a uniform minimum package to support volunteers and mobilised fighters in various regions of the Federation. These should be uniform norms. We need to support the creation of nursery groups for toddlers from 2 months to 18 months to encourage women to feel more confident and fulfil their demographic-oriented tasks.

We also have other proposals – on support for the participants in the special military operation and those that are supporting it on the home front, which is no less important. The same applies to saving the number of population and demography. Some of these proposals were made by Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

We are working with the Government closer and more effectively than ever before. We are being heard; our concepts are being translated into life and becoming effective laws – they are turning into mechanisms that works.

And, of course, since I retained my position of the Chair of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, I am extremely grateful to you for the decision to confer on me the title of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador. This is a high responsibility, especially today, and therefore I will report to you on fulfilling your instructions on the African track and the very important direction – the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

Vladimir Putin: Very well, Mr Slutsky. I know that your proposals are always specific, practical.

Leonid Slutsky: Absolutely.

Vladimir Putin: Let’s go over to them, discuss them.

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