Zyuganov Advises US Secretary of State to Reconsider His… Presumptuous Plans for Russia in 2018

Welcome to 60 Minutes, where we talk about the most important developments.

It's the last, or rather, the latest program of the year.

- Politically, the year was eventful and decidedly complicated. Sanctions were imposed, rockets were launched, threats were expressed, meetings derailed, consulates were closed, and truces were not respected. So, in international politics, there weren't that many positive things going on.

 

- So far, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recapped Russian-American relations in 2017 best of all in his column in The New York Times. It's his last official statement in the expiring year. Briefly, there's one positive aspect: we cherish no more illusions towards each other. First, let's recall these illusions and then move on to Tillerson.

Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State: "Neither President nor I were happy with the sanctions imposed by Congress and the way it was done. We have made it clear that such moves only discourage the efforts aimed at normalization. But it was a decision of the law-makers, which they made by an overwhelming majority. We just have to deal with it. Although, we can't let it hinder our attempts to revive the relations with Russia.

On Russia, we have no illusions about the regime we are dealing with. Today, the United States has a poor relationship with a resurgent Russia, which has invaded its neighbors Georgia and Ukraine in the last decade and undermined the sovereignty of Western nations by meddling in our election and others’. The appointment of Kurt Volker, a former NATO ambassador, as special representative for Ukraine, reflects our commitment to restoring the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Absent a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian situation, which must begin with Russia’s adherence to the Minsk agreements, there cannot be business as usual with Russia".

- Gennady Andreevich, Americans have no more illusions about our country, about Russia, though they used to have some. How should we deal with the Americans? Apparently, they're saying our regime is bad or something.

Gennady Zyuganov, head of CPRF: "I got rid of any illusions about America's foreign policy a long time ago. I wrote a paper called '200 Years of the American Dream,' which analyzed the development of the country.

There were two trends: expansion and provocation. They've always relied on force. If we are weak, they'll call the shots and put pressure on us. We just must be realistic about it. If we are strong, they'll respect us and listen to us very attentively.

As for their stance, I've scrutinized three addresses: One by Putin, who addressed the nation, saying that Russia must be strong, successful, and healthy. It's a very important message, but we have to find the ways to implement this idea. The US President presented his new strategy, directly calling Russia and China the main rivals, or rather, enemies. By the way, Kissinger warned many times that under no circumstances should Russia and China be allowed to unite. The way Trump puts it, stressing 'two major rivals,' are absolutely dangerous for America. Secondly, it signals to us and China that we are to do out best to strengthen ties, which was confirmed by Xi Jinping at the 19th Congress of China's Communist Party. This dimension has been successfully developed. China is becoming a superpower and Americans have revised their strategy for a reason.

In this sense, we have only one option — do everything we can to make sure that we are the leading-edge in science, that we have cutting-edge industries and an extremely cohesive nation. For this, a different economic policy is needed. As for their foreign policy, remember, this strategy will fail, much like so many of their other things have. Today, Europe has changed dramatically too. Britain doesn't know how to leave the EU…"

- Do you remember what happened a year ago?

- Merkel suffered a defeat in the elections. France has a helpless president. We must cultivate multiple bilateral relations. You'll see such a policy bear fruit.

Regarding their grandiose rhetoric, it is to be viewed as a matter of course. We must develop and advance our country. For this, we need a budget of 25 trillion, not 16. We must bring back the 1.5 million highly qualified professionals working in labs. Just provide them with decent conditions, you'll see our country develop fast.

For now, this year, the US growth rate is 3.5%, China's is 7.5%, and ours is 1.5%.

- Gennady Andreevich, ours is almost 2%.

- Zhenya, maybe you have 2%, but…

- No, it's according to Oreshkin and Siluanov. Not me.

- I'm sure that we'll overcome these difficulties. We need to make some changes when it comes to financial and economic development. We must do our best to be truly strong and educated. We have everything we need to make it happen.