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Russian President Vladimir Putin fielding questions for his annual question-and-answer session in Moscow today.
Russian President Vladimir Putin fielding questions for his annual question-and-answer session in Moscow today.

Live Blog: Putin Holds Televised Q&A

Russian President Vladimir Putin has finished hosting his annual question-and-answer show with the nation.

Key Points:

On The Economy:

-- Putin admitted that Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP), incomes, and investment were falling while inflation stands at as high as 12.3 percent since the start of the year.

-- He said that Russia's economic activity is showing “signs of stabilization.”

-- Putin said the Russian government predicts growth next year of 0.7 percent, rising to 1.9 percent in 2017 and 2.4 percent in 2018, based on an oil price of $50 a barrel -- more than $10 higher than its current level.

On Syria:

-- Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will never agree to any outside force deciding on whether Bashar al-Assad should remain Syrian president, and added that the crisis in Syria can only be resolved politically.

-- Putin said that Moscow generally supported the U.S. initiative to prepare a resolution on Syria in the UN Security Council.

On Turkey:

-- Putin said Turkey's shooting down of a Russian warplane last month was "a hostile action" and said "it is practically impossible" to make any deals with the current Turkish government. He also accused Turkey of sheltering Islamic militants.

On Georgia:

-- Putin says Moscow is ready to restore relations with the former Soviet republic of Georgia, seven years after a brief war sent relations to an all-time low.


*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Moscow (GMT/UTC +3)

10:57 17.12.2015

Putin praises FIFA’s suspended president who is suspected of corruption Sepp Blatter.

"He is the person who should receive a Nobel Peace Prize."

10:54 17.12.2015
10:52 17.12.2015

"We are open to work with any president the U.S. people elect," Putin says.

10:51 17.12.2015

Tough question. RT asked if Russian officials will learn English.

"We encourage it. Learning a foreign language is a great gymnastics for the mind."

10:49 17.12.2015

"It is possible, the government considers it. I try not to get involved into these issues. It's the government's job."

10:45 17.12.2015

The Guardian shared a video of Putin talking about Turkey:

10:43 17.12.2015

"Putin is listening to the question about living on 7,000 rubles a month," Gromadskoye TV tweets.

10:39 17.12.2015

Putin says they are ready to lift a visa regime with Georgia.

10:37 17.12.2015

Russian journalist shares Putin's gestures and facial expressions:

10:35 17.12.2015

"Mikheil Saakashvili just couldn't get a U.S. visa, so they sent him to Ukraine."

Putin is now talking about the fact that Ukrainians can't seem to find decent people to govern themselves, so they have to have officials "shipped in from abroad." Putin calls Saakashvili's appointment "a spit in the face" of Ukrainians.

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