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Interview on Ukrainian Television Channels UT-1, Inter and 1 3 October 27, 2004 Kiev, Ukraine Интервью украинским телеканалам «УТ-1», «Интер» и «1 1» 26 октября 2004 года Киев In Europe, for example, voter turnout is somewhere around 55-60 percent. We have had, I think, a very good turnout for the presidential elections in Russia, especially the last election, where we had around 65 percent or even a little higher. That is a good turnout. You said that people dont believe they can have any influence on events through democracy, but what other way is there to influence events? Democracy is the only way. I am absolutely convinced, therefore, that it is important to take part in elections. Theres a well known argument that says, if you dont vote, someone will vote for you. I have absolutely no doubt, indeed, I am 100-percent convinced, that you should support the candidate whose views most appeal to you. HOST: Calls are still coming in at the telephone centre. Looking at the makeup of callers, we have half-and-half men and women. What is interesting is that more than 40 percent of calls are coming from people with higher education. If Im not mistaken, we have a call now from Dneprodzerzhinsk. Hello, please introduce yourself. QUESTION: Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich. My name is Valentina Nikolayevna. There has been a lot of debate in Ukraine about whether President Kuchma will run for a third term in office or not. Has he discussed this matter with you at all, and will you run for a third term? VLADIMIR PUTIN: Valentina Nikolayevna, Leonid Kuchma is older than me and he has more life and political experience than me. He was director of Yuzhmash, one of the Soviet Unions major and much respected enterprises, a real giant of Soviet industry. So, if were talking of seeking advice, it would more likely be me turning to him for advice. We do, of course, discuss various questions with each other. We have discussed the situation today in Ukraine. Leonid Danilovich has never, I repeat, never, raised the question of potentially running for a third term. He has always spoken only of ensuring that these presidential elections, in which he had no intention of taking part, are held in an atmosphere of law and order. As for me, I think that in many countries in this part of the world, in Russia, at any rate, the most important thing today is to ensure stability, and stability can only be ensured by upholding the law. This includes upholding the law that forms the foundation of our country the Constitution. The Russian Constitution allows only two consecutive terms in office, and that is the law I shall follow. HOST: We are still taking calls here at the telephone centre. We have received around 2,500 questions over the last not quite 15 minutes. You can see for yourselves what a volume of questions we have. It looks like were now coming to a series of more personal questions, including questions regarding your relations with President Kuchma. We have one such question that came via the Internet, a personal question. QUESTION: Vladimir Vladimirovich, this is a question from Svetlana Kibiyenko in Krivoy Rog: Who did you celebrate your birthday with? Is it true that you celebrated your birthday together with [Ukrainian Prime Minister] Viktor Yanukovich? VLADIMIR PUTIN: I try not to make such occasions a public affair. I think I have the right to celebrate my birthday among my family and friends. Yes, I did invite the Ukrainian President and Prime Minister, and they did both accept the invitation. We celebrated my birthday and they gave me interesting presents. Of course, we did make use of the opportunity to talk about our affairs as well. Yes, they did visit me on that occasion. HOST: Another question from the Internet, but a more political one this time. This is a question from Ivan Kazachok in Dnepropetrovsk: Mr President, Russia recently agreed to a Ukrainian government proposal to collect VAT on oil and gas products by destination country. This will cost the Russian budget almost $1 billion, while the Ukrainian budget only stands to benefit. So, the question arises, isnt there some trap here for Ukraine?
