TASS exclusive interview with Putin closely studied in all capitals, says Kremlin

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. TASS Special Project "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin" based on the head of state’s exclusive interview was closely studied in all capitals, and all walks of life meticulously picked out quotes, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in the final episode of the project. "There have been quite a few foreign comments [on Putin’s statements in the TASS special project]," he noted. "Putin’s statements certainly elicited responses from different capitals. I am certain that each episode was closely studied in all capitals. This is possibly the best yardstick of success." Commenting on the negative reaction from Mikhail Khodorkovsky whom Putin described as a swindler in one of the episodes, Peskov noted smiling, "Everyone watched the interview with Putin, even the swindlers, you see? All walks of life meticulously picked out quotes. And that’s great. Perhaps, something will eventually sink in. This is good, isn’t it?He called the "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin" project unique. "That you came up with the idea of talking about all this in such a unique way was quite extraordinary, the way I see it. He [Putin] has not been filmed this way, that’s true," the Kremlin spokesman noted. Peskov stressed that this is not a Kremlin project. "This project was brought to the Kremlin. It was proposed to the Kremlin and then the Kremlin submitted it to the president and the president eventually agreed," he explained. The "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin" series dedicated to the 20th anniversary of his work at the helm of power was launched on February 20, 2020. Seventeen episodes were uploaded on to the news agency’s resources. However, due to the sudden and drastic changes in the global information agenda, TASS decided to suspend the project. "We started the project, we launched the project, but then a perfect storm followed. The whiff of an economic crisis was in the air, and coronavirus added fuel to the fire," Peskov said commenting on the decision to suspend the project. "Then all this exploded and a global panic ensued. And the agenda changed, of course. It was not an agenda that was quite favorable for looking back and reflecting on Putin’s 20 years at the helm of power." "You made a very correct decision to put the brakes on showing the next episodes, to freeze the project," the Kremlin spokesman went on to say. "This is absolutely normal." Ready for full-on discussion According to Peskov, Putin is always ready for a full-on discussion with journalists and never complained that they were too assertive. "Never have I heard from him, even after the most heated interviews with your American or British colleagues, never have I heard him say that the interview was too aggressive, or too assertive," he said addressing the project’s author, journalist Andrei Vandenko. "On the contrary, whoever manages to provoke Putin into a discussion gets a full-on discussion from him." The Kremlin spokesman noted that it was very hard to do something that would annoy the president. "And even if he does get annoyed, he’s always so much in control that it would be impossible to tell that something annoyed him," he added. "He does not adjust himself to the environment or to the conversational partner. He remains his usual self," Peskov noted. He recalled that the president had taken part in such a project aimed at Internet users for the first time. "This project’s target - it is not quite Putin’s setting. It’s not Putin’s familiar environment. And the manner of dialogue, your manner of dialogue is not quite Putin’s manner of dialogue. But Putin remained his usual self and was very natural," the Kremlin spokesman said. Peskov also noted that the Kremlin never prepared questions for the president to be asked by journalists in advance. He stressed that this is also true of the interview that Putin granted to TASS. "We never prepare questions for President Putin. I think he would not like it if we tried," the Kremlin spokesman added. The new episode of the video interview is available here. Read more