SOCHI: Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Thursday at the Valdai Discussion Club, a forum of Russia experts, in the city of Sochi. He spoke in Russian, and his words are translated by Reuters.

Here are some of the main quotes:

ON TOMAHAWK MISSILES FOR UKRAINE:

“Using Tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel is impossible. This would mark a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States.”

ON TRUMP’S DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA AS A PAPER TIGER:

“A paper tiger. What follows then? Go and deal with this paper tiger.”

“Well if we are fighting with the entire NATO bloc, we are moving, advancing, and we feel confident, and we are a paper tiger, then what is NATO itself?”

ON ‘HYSTERIA’ AMONG EUROPE’S LEADERS:

“The ruling elites of united Europe continue to whip up hysteria. It turns out that war with the Russians is practically on the doorstep. They repeat this nonsense, this mantra, over and over again. … They can’t believe what they’re saying, that Russia is going to attack NATO? … They’re either incredibly incompetent if they truly believe it, because it’s impossible to believe this nonsense, or they’re simply dishonest.”

ON RUSSIA’S RESPONSE TO EUROPEAN MILITARY BUILDUP:

“We simply cannot ignore what is happening. We have no right to do so for reasons of our own security. I repeat, our defence and safety. Therefore, we are closely monitoring the escalating militarization of Europe.”

“Are these just empty words, or is it time for us to take countermeasures? … Germany, for example, says that the German army should be the most powerful in Europe. Good. We listen carefully, understanding what is meant.”

“I think no one doubts that such measures will force Russia to act, and Russia’s countermeasures will not be long in coming. It seems (to me) that the response to these threats will be, to put it mildly, very convincing.”

ON THE UKRAINE CONFLICT:

“We are grateful to all the countries that have made sincere efforts to find a way out of this situation in recent years. These include our partners: the founding members of BRICS; Belarus and also, by the way, North Korea; in the Arab world as a whole, primarily the UAE, alongside many other countries.”

“Unfortunately, it has not been possible to stop the fighting, but the responsibility for this lies not with the majority (of countries), but with a minority in Europe that is constantly escalating the conflict.”

ON RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES:

“Our countries, as we know, have many points of disagreement. Our views on many global issues clash. This is normal for such major powers. In fact, naturally, the most important thing is how to resolve these disagreements, and to what extent they can be resolved peacefully.”

“The current White House administration states its interests and desires directly … and bluntly, but without any unnecessary hypocrisy.”

“We see that the current U.S. administration is guided primarily by its own interests, as it understands them. I believe this is a rational approach. But then, if you will excuse me, Russia also reserves the right to be guided by its national interests. One of which, incidentally, is the restoration of full-fledged relations with the U.S.”

ON ‘FIGHTING’ BETWEEN RUSSIA AND NATO:

“All NATO countries are fighting us, and they’re no longer hiding it … A centre was created specifically in Europe, and it essentially supports everything the Ukrainian armed forces do. It feeds information, transmits intelligence from space, and supplies weapons and gives training.”

ON THE COURSE OF THE FIGHTING:

“Our troops are confidently advancing along practically the entire line of contact.”

“We control almost 100% of the Luhansk region. The enemy controls a little over 19% in the Donetsk region, and 24-25% in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, respectively. And everywhere, Russian troops confidently maintain the strategic initiative.”

ON TRUMP’S GAZA PLAN:

“In general, Russia is prepared to support it. Provided, of course it leads to the ultimate goal we have always discussed. Russia has always … advocated the creation of two states – both Israel and a Palestinian state. And this, in my view, is the key to a final solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”

ON U.S. CALLS FOR INDIA TO RENOUNCE RUSSIAN ENERGY:

“If India refuses our energy supplies, it will suffer a certain loss … of course, the people of a country like India, believe me, will closely monitor the decisions made by the political leadership and will never allow any humiliation in front of anyone. And then, I know Prime Minister Modi; he himself would never take any steps of this kind.”

ON ALLEGED UKRAINIAN STRIKES ON ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR PLANT:

“This is a dangerous game, and people on the other side should also understand that if they’re going to play it so dangerously, they still have operating nuclear power plants on their side. And what’s stopping us from retaliating in kind? Let them think about that.”

ON CONTINUED EXPORTS OF URANIUM TO THE U.S.:

“The United States is one of the largest, if not the largest, state using nuclear power plants … Russia is the second largest supplier of uranium to the American market.”

ON ALASKA SUMMIT WITH TRUMP:

“President Trump and I discussed practically nothing there, not even the bilateral agenda. We only discussed the possibilities and ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.”

“Second, one way or another, albeit superficially, we discussed restoring Russian-American relations, which are not just at an impasse, but at their lowest point in memory.”

ON FRENCH SEIZURE OF RUSSIAN OIL TANKER:

“Well, it’s piracy … A tanker was seized in international waters, without any justification. And they were apparently looking for some kind of cargo, maybe military equipment, drones, or something like that. None of that was there, nor could it be.”

ON RUSSIA’S ECONOMY:

“We absolutely must further strengthen our financial system. And here, two things are crucial. First, we must further strengthen macroeconomic stability and reduce inflation, while still trying to maintain positive economic growth rates.”

“But at the end of last year, we said, yes, in order to combat inflation, we must sacrifice these record-breaking growth rates. And the central bank raised the key rate, which undoubtedly impacts the economy as a whole.”