Russian President Vladimir Putin, playing down recent hawkish statements from Moscow, said yesterday Russia was not interested in a return to the Cold War.
Putin's criticism of NATO expansion and US plans for a missile defense shield, plus Moscow's decisions to rebuild Russia's defense capability, have been trademarks of his presidency.
But in his last annual news conference before leaving the Kremlin in May, Putin struck a more conciliatory note - though he restated Russia's opposition to Western plans to let the Serbian province of Kosovo declare independence.
"To suppose that we aspire to return to the times of the Cold War is just too bold a supposition," Putin told an annual news conference attended by hundreds of reporters in the Kremlin's Round Hall.
"We are not interested in this. Our main tasks are internal development, the solution of social and economic problems of the country."
Russia was willing to work "towards the construction of a positive dialogue" with whoever won the US presidential election and did not intend to target any country with its nuclear missiles except in "extreme necessity", he said.
'I am rich'
Putin scoffed at reports that he had amassed a personal fortune during his eight years in power.
"I am rich because the people of Russia twice entrusted me with leading a great country like Russia. I believe this is my greatest wealth," Putin said, the first time he has addressed the issue of his personal wealth.
Western news media last year quoted a Moscow-based political analyst, Stanislav Belkovsky, as saying Putin owned big stakes in Russian oil firms that had made him extremely wealthy.
Belkovsky said his information came from Kremlin sources but did not produce documentary evidence.
Looking relaxed during the marathon question-and-answer session, Putin chuckled when asked if he was the richest man in Europe and what the source of his fortune had been.
"As for various rumors about my personal wealth ... that is empty talk which shouldn't even be discussed," he said.
"I've seen some papers... That is just rubbish, just excavated from someone's nose and then spread on those bits of paper".
In a declaration filed with electoral authorities last October, Putin said he possessed a small apartment in St Petersburg, two old Soviet-made cars, a small plot of land outside Moscow and $149,000 in bank accounts.
'I trust Medvedev'
Answering questions about what would happen after the presidential election next month, Putin said he never wanted to cling to power for life and would be happy to relinquish the presidency to his trusted ally Dmitry Medvedev, the overwhelming favorite to win the March 2 vote.
"There is a personal chemistry, I trust him," Putin said. "This is a person to whom it is not shameful and not frightening to hand over the leadership of the country."
Putin, a youthful 55, has said he will become prime minister in a Medvedev presidency but he rejected suggestions he would be pulling the strings in future from outside the Kremlin.
"Dmitry Anatolievich (Medvedev) and I have worked together more than 15 years, and I would never have deigned to support a candidate for president if he needed coddling and advice on how to behave," Putin said. "He's a mature politician."
"I know how the head of state's job is set up, and assure you that our relations will be quite harmonious. I will never step in for the head of the government. I consider that damaging and counter-productive."
Source:China Daily/Agencies
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