DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Hello!
Today I would like to say a few words on how the work on the President’s Address is going.
On November 5, 2008 I’m going to address the Federal Assembly of our country, our Parliament, in the President’s Annual Address. This is my constitutional duty and right now preparations are underway, as they always are, within the Presidential Executive Office. I already know this process firsthand because I have worked on such issues for nearly 8 years now together with my colleagues, both within the Executive Office and in the government cabinet of the Russian Federation. This is a fairly complex process which operates according to its own laws — it is a real internal discussion forum during which various positions are aligned, points of view are defended, propositions are made on how to improve legislation, Russia’s social and economic situation, important foreign policy initiatives are taken, in general, it reflects everything that the President sets out in the Address.
And this time too we are working with colleagues on the document, working hard and meeting periodically. I put forward my vision and my instructions. We argue about certain issues; on others we take decisions quite rapidly. I hope that the text I will use in my Address will soon be finalised.
But today I can already say that this document will include responses to some of the most significant issues facing our country. What do I mean? I am referring, of course, to the situation the Russian Federation faced in August – the challenge that stood before all of Russian society, that is the Caucasian crisis. We will not be able to circumvent its consequences, consequences not only for our country, but also for the entire world and the situation in the world at large.
Another difficult challenge facing the entire world today is an international financial crisis, a crisis that began in one of the world’s major countries, in the United States of America and which, unfortunately, has spread throughout the world and affected almost all countries.
The G-20 summit will soon take place in Washington, a summit where we will discuss these issues. I will not prematurely reveal our proposals because they are still being developed, but nevertheless of course we will put forward some initiatives.
Of course I will devote part of my speech to the country’s current social and economic problems, and the proposals that have been made to me and the cabinet to improve the situation, to improve the lives of every citizen, all of the people in the country as a whole, to develop the Armed Forces, and to resolve a number of major international issues.
This is the standard set of themes for the Presidential Address, but life is so full of surprises that when the time for a new Address arrives these events naturally take on a whole new meaning.
Thank you.