Let the people decide whom to vote for, who has more authority. And only people, only our citizens, are able to place the final emphasis, voting for this or that person or political force, or rejecting it. That's democracy.

We value our relations with Europe, which we have jointly developed over the past decades, and Europe remains our main trading partner. It is my hope that we will normalise these relations in the near future.

The Government will not abandon the free conversion of the rouble.

We must learn to succeed in conditions of low fuel and energy prices.

We do not want Ukraine to default. On the contrary, we need an economically viable partner. However, debts should be paid, and this includes state and commercial debts.

Demand for grain in the world today is a more stable trend than demand for energy. Russia is a major grain exporter and can consolidate its positions.

We will step up support for the non-commodity export sector, working more closely with potential buyers of Russian goods. We do have something to offer in the IT sphere, the nuclear power industry, aircraft manufacturing, the aerospace industry and a number of other sectors.

Unsolvable problems do not exist. Any crisis is a combination of specific tasks to be worked on. The government has the experience and reserves to overcome the economic downturn.

Our goal is not to douse the recession with money, which would be useless, as both you and I know. Our goal is to liberate the business initiative, to lower administrative and law enforcement pressure and to make legal protection truly effective.

Russia will honour its international commitments. Our country is a reliable borrower, a reliable creditor and a reliable supplier. Sanctions come and go, but business ties, economic interests and the reputation of a state remain.