"They cannot hold back the development of China. The Chinese economy is already larger than the US economy in terms of purchasing power parity. China will inevitably become the world's top economy in all other respects. But you have to understand this", he said.
"It is a strange situation: if someone thinks that Crimea is occupied then Crimeans are victims of aggression. So why are they being punished more? But if they chose to rejoin Russia in a referendum then it is a display of democracy. Are they [the West] fighting democracy?" Putin said. "The answer is: they don't give a damn about the interests of Crimeans and Russia or democracy. They are pursuing their geopolitical agenda. That's all. We understand it and we will respond accordingly".
"We will continue to work together with Kazakhstan on Baikonur. There are many issues, nevertheless, I agree with the question formulated by our Kazakh friends that Kazakhstan, if we work together, should not just be a platform for launching the corresponding spacecraft, but should take a broader, more meaningful participatory [role] in space activities. This includes developing of its own competencies in this area", Putin said.
"I did everything to solve these crimes. The relevant instructions and orders were given to all law enforcement and special services. As you know, people are in jail for the crimes committed", Putin said at his big press conference in response to a journalist's question whether he personally knew the names of those who had ordered the murders of Politkovskaya and Nemtsov.
"In my opinion, this is generally the only country, the only global company that behaves like this. I have already said at various events, including international ones, that, for example, US suppliers withdrew from Europe, from the European market .... of liquefied natural gas", Putin said.
"We are constantly communicating with the president of the People's Republic of China - as friends. So it is, we have developed very trusting personal relations and they help us in many issues", Putin said, adding that China is a leader in Asia, which is developing swiftly.
"As soon as you start to apply force, there will immediately emerge ways to bypass this pressure. We need to go another way - to treat people with respect, regardless of their position [on vaccination], and patiently explain the need for certain measures", Putin said.
"We have 59.4% collective immunity as of today, or as of yesterday evening. This includes both our citizens who have recovered [from COVIID] and who were vaccinated. But this is not enough, we need herd immunity somewhere near 80%. Hopefully next year we will reach this level", Putin said.
"Our economy, faced with challenges and forced restrictions, nevertheless, turned out to be more mobilised and ready to endure the shocks than many developed economies in the world, even if we take the top 20", the Russian president said.
