The Cable
The Cable goes inside the foreign policy machine, from Foggy Bottom to Turtle Bay, the White House to Embassy Row.

Putin Won’t Confirm or Deny He’s Running for Russian President

Also, he’s willing to offer “human rights defender” James Comey asylum alongside Edward Snowden.

By , a global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews.
little baby putin
little baby putin

In his annual phone-in session, which lasted over four hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin answered many questions. Someone asked about the largest fish he ever caught. Twenty kilograms, he said. Someone asked where he would go if he had a time machine. World War II, he said (or, as it’s known in Russia, the Great Patriotic War). Someone asked what he thinks of the demolition project that has sparked protests in Moscow. He said he cares what Muscovites think. Someone asked which world leader has the strongest handshake. He answered that leadership is not a handshake.

In his annual phone-in session, which lasted over four hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin answered many questions. Someone asked about the largest fish he ever caught. Twenty kilograms, he said. Someone asked where he would go if he had a time machine. World War II, he said (or, as it’s known in Russia, the Great Patriotic War). Someone asked what he thinks of the demolition project that has sparked protests in Moscow. He said he cares what Muscovites think. Someone asked which world leader has the strongest handshake. He answered that leadership is not a handshake.

One question Putin would not answer, however, is who his successor would be. Putin reminded listeners it is up to the Russian voters to decide. He did not answer whether he would be president at the time of the next annual phone-in. Which is to say that with nine months to go until Russian presidential elections, Putin, who is very likely to remain president, won’t actually say whether he’s running for the office.

He also didn’t answer questions that appeared in graphic form at the bottom of the screen that differed from those that were actually being asked, such as, “Putin, do you really think people believe this circus of set-up questions?” It was unclear whether such questions were a production accident or an intentional troll.

Putin also answered a question about former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired for investigating ties between Donald Trump’s team and Russia.

“It sounds very strange when the head of the security services writes down a conversation with the commander-in-chief and then leaks it to the media through his friend,” Putin said, comparing Comey to Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who sought asylum — and now lives — in Russia.

“That means he is not the leader of the security services, but a human rights defender,” the Russian president added. “And if he faces pressure, then we are happy to offer him political asylum, too.”

Putin and Trump are scheduled to meet in July in Hamburg for the G-20 summit.

Photo credit: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images

Emily Tamkin is a global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews. She was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2016-2018. Twitter: @emilyctamkin

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.