普京举行年度记者招待会 称“真羡慕奥巴马”

“对普京来说，不存在尴尬的问题。”据俄罗斯媒体12月19日报道，当天，俄总统普京在莫斯科举行年度大型记者招待会，就俄政治、经济、社会和民生等问题以及备受关注的斯诺登事件和俄乌关系回答了记者提问。

这是普京三任总统任期内第9次召开年度记者招待会，共有超过1300名记者参加。会前，俄总统新闻秘书德米特里·佩斯科夫号召记者们大胆提问，称他的“老板”只会被“愚蠢的问题”激怒。

当被问及总统的薪资水平如何时，普京很快回答称：“总统和总理的工资都够用！”据悉，去年俄罗斯总统和总理的年薪相同，均为580万卢布（约合107万元人民币）。

在记者招待会上，当被问及斯诺登事件后俄美关系发生何种变化时，普京如是回答：“我真羡慕奥巴马，因为他能暗中监视盟友，却不需要承担任何后果。”

普京说，他不清楚斯诺登为什么会决定在如此年轻时就把美国国安局的秘密监控项目公诸于众，但他说斯诺登“好奇心旺盛”，并赞扬斯诺登的举动，称其是做了一项“崇高的事业”。

"I envy Obama because he can spy on his allies without any consequences," said Putin when asked about how his relations had changed with the US following Snowden’s espionage revelations.

During an annual question-and-answer session with journalists, Putin praised Edward Snowden’s actions, saying that he was working for a “noble cause.” At the same time he accepted the importance of espionage programs in the fight against global terrorism, but said the NSA needed guidelines to limit its powers.

“There is nothing to be upset about and nothing to be proud of, spying has always been and is one of the oldest professions,” said Putin.

Referring to the vast amounts of metadata gathered on citizens by the NSA, Putin said it is impossible to sift through all of that information. It is “useless” to look at the analysis of spy agencies because it is the opinion of analysts and not facts and as such can be misleading.

“You need to know the people who analyze them, I know, I did it,” said Putin, harking back to his career as a KGB agent. The Russian president described Snowden as a “curious character” and said it was not clear why the former CIA contractor had decided to blow the whistle on the NSA’s international espionage program at such a young age.

Russia is not working with Snowden and has not received classified documents from him, Putin said. The whistleblower has been allowed to reside in Russia but only on the condition he does not “engage in anti-American propaganda.”

Snowden fled to Russia from Hong Kong back in June after leaking a trove of classified information on Washington’s espionage activities. He disseminated the documents to international media outlets who published them in articles blowing the whistle on the NSA’s espionage activities.

The spy revelations triggered massive diplomatic backlash and have had an adverse effect on the Obama administration’s foreign policy. Europe in particular reacted angrily after it was found that the NSA had been monitoring high-ranking political figures, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties and Home Affairs met Wednesday to discuss what action the EU should take in the wake of the spy revelations. Glenn Greenwald, the former Guardian journalist renowned for publishing Edward Snowden’s leaks, testified at the meeting. Greenwald claimed that the NSA’s activities had nothing to do with the fight against terrorism and are instead aimed at the elimination of privacy worldwide.

“What a lot of this spying is about has nothing to do with terrorism and national security. That is the pretext. It is about diplomatic manipulation and economic advantage,” said Greenwald.

In the wake of the spy scandal Washington has defended the NSA, saying their work has foiled over 50 terror plots in the US and EU.