Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he answers for a question during his annual call-in show in Moscow, April 14, 2016.(Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev, AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin fielded 74 questions Thursday during his<span style="color: Red;">*</span>annual marathon<span style="color: Red;">*</span>call-in show on Russian TV.
Among the lighter moments of the nearly four-hour long question-and-answer session:
• Asked by an 11-year-old about<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his views on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>eating porridge for breakfast, Putin said,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“I eat porridge with pleasure. Everyday.” Asked whether he was forced to eat it as a child, he answered:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“I generally don’t do what I don’t want.”
• On what he would wish for if granted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>three wishes: "Do you remember there was a little song in Soviet times, 'No one will help us. Not God, not a tsar, not a hero.'<span style="color: Red;">*</span>We shouldn't rely on miracles. We have to work with our own hands, otherwise we will end up with nothing, just like in a famous Pushkin fairy tale."
USA TODAY
Vladimir Putin slams U.S. 'imperial ambitions' on call-in show
• Asked if he preferred Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as the next U.S.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>president,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he said the individual doesn't matter as much as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the need for Washington to abandon its "imperial ambitions."<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“It isn’t about specific people.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>If they (the U.S.)<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will maintain their false assumption of exceptionalism, then it means they will always demand a special place and special rights.”
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A 12-year-old girl asked<span style="color: Red;">*</span>which of his political adversaries he would<span style="color: Red;">*</span>save first if they were drowning —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. "If someone has decided to drown, it’s probably already impossible to save them anyway," he said. "Though of course we are ready to reach out a helping hand to any of our partners, if they want it.”
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>On whether he ever swears in private:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Only at myself," adding:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Do I ever swear at subordinates? Yes, but again it’s because I’m angry at myself."
• He dodged a question on whether he plans to remarry, saying, according to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
Sputnik News:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I'm not sure if I should advertise my personal situation, it may change the currency exchange or price of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>oil!" he said. "I'm aware people want to know about my personal life but it's not really important. I may satisfy your curiosity in the future."
• On whether he takes imported medicine:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I try not to let it come to that. I work out..."
• On a re-election bid for 2018:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"It's too early to say."
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