On June 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the Russia-ASEAN summit, as well as in an endless marathon of bilateral meetings, in which a special correspondent for Kommersant also took part. Andrey Kolesnikov. At the same time, he was inspired more than others to create this text, of course, by a translator from Cambodian to Russian.
The Expo Pavilion, where the Russia-ASEAN summit took place, is located next to the airport. Already at seven in the morning there were much more traffic police officers along the roads leading to the Expo than there were car drivers on these roads.
The security measures in the pavilion itself also inspired respect. Everything was planned down to the smallest detail. All the details have been taken care of. Among other things, “unmanned aircraft of any maximum take-off weight and unmanned vehicles moving on land, on water and under water, as well as kites …” were prohibited from entering the pavilion territory. By the way, nothing was said about their flight, and not carrying through.
Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, whose farm was known to have suffered early in the morning, now, sitting behind the empty presidential chair next to the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and surrounded by the standing deputy head of the presidential administration Maxim Oreshkin and the Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, was laughing loudly at something – obviously demonstrating outward confidence in the future. Apparently, the cats scratched primarily at the soul.
The opening speech of Vladimir Putin, who appeared in the hall together with the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, was extremely, or rather, infinitely streamlined.
It was necessary to understand that he was counting on “fruitful work and the traditionally constructive and interested exchange of views.”
Then there was a closed meeting, at which, according to Kommersant’s information, no surprises happened either, and finally – statements to the press.
For some reason, almost all the journalists who came to listen to these statements were confident that Vladimir Putin and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the President of the Philippines, would answer their questions. And our colleagues, who seemed strange at first glance, were more sure of this than others; they found themselves in a promisingly darkened room, where statements were to be read out and two stands with microphones were illuminated by lamps, before others. Such colleagues have never been seen at such events before, but they can be seen from afar and are impossible not to recognize.
Yes, Kazan bloggers, including verified colleagues from Tatarstan, immediately noted the ex-wife of football player Pogrebnyak, who, as I immediately heard, recently gave birth to her fourth (no, not from Pogrebnyak). There was also a boxer here – one of those who are never former, that is, Grigory Drozd.
Each of them had a question for Vladimir Putin. Thus, Grigory Drozd intended to find out at all costs how the problems of admitting Russian athletes to international competitions would be resolved. My assumptions that they had already begun to be resolved ran into a wall of misunderstanding.
The blogger girls, two blondes, who were told that the president would be coming in now, suddenly found themselves in a state of complete confusion or even panic: on the one hand, they had to hold the phone in their hands and zoom in and out, and on the other (the other) – a powder compact. So what should they do, break up? The picture of how they solved this problem is still before my eyes, and I will take this secret (and there is a secret) with me wherever I need to go, like bloggers take powder compacts in their purses.
After reading the statements (Vladimir Putin generously approved the signing of the American-Iranian agreements), the presidents, of course, did not even think about answering questions, but went off to bilateral negotiations – each for their own.
I remember their first episode, in which the Prime Minister of Laos Sonsai Siphandon told Vladimir Putin that here, in Kazan, he completed the ceremony of transferring two elephants to the Kazan Zoo, and his colleagues, members of the delegation, nodded their heads so meaningfully when he talked about them that I understood: history was being made before our eyes.
However, it did not last long: we waited for the next negotiations in the next room and recorded the end of the previous ones: in a maximum of half an hour.
Negotiations with Prime Minister of Vietnam Le Minh Hung were, of course, a historical milestone in relations between our countries, but they turned out to be even shorter, despite the fact that the Russian delegation had a longer bench this time.
Before the start, the head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said, answering questions, that shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant was continuing, and that there were already dead, and that he hoped for a sharper reaction from the IAEA, which so far was getting off with general words.
Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, on the contrary, remained silent when asked what he thought about the fire at the Moscow Refinery, but agreed to talk about energy cooperation between Russia and the ASEAN countries in the 35th anniversary year of comprehensive cooperation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov answered a question from a Rossiya 1 correspondent and abruptly cut off her competitors from other federal TV channels:
– I’m talking to a girl!
He told the girl that after such attacks on Moscow as today and the day before, diplomatic condemnation is not enough, but it is necessary to respond, as the President of Russia has already warned, systematically… And the warning sounded now, as usual, was the last.
Next was Singapore, which gathered the maximum quorum: the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, as well as the head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Igor Chaika, appeared among the negotiators. And the rest listened to Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong more attentively, it seems, than to previous negotiators.
At some point, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to stand this marathon and would quit the race, disgraced. But I thought about those who are on their way to the goal, that is, to the flight to Moscow, together with me and, perhaps, even ahead of me.
And I managed to pull myself together.
The Prime Minister of Thailand, Anuthin Chanvirakun, was waiting for us. On one side of the table were the same ones. On the other hand, those to whom we owe Samui, Phi Phi, Phuket and Krabi.
This, in fact, was what the conversation was about.
I expected a lot from the Prime Minister of East Timor, Kai Rala Xanana Gusmau. The man has already proven himself. I danced while going to take a photo with Vladimir Putin at the first meeting, as soon as I heard the sounds of the famous Tatar music in the theater. Then he told his colleagues that he had learned several crucial Russian phrases in order to meet girls in Kazan – and he did. In general, our man, as they say. Although from East Timor. And not from the West.
True, by the end of the marathon, it seems, I burned out. He talked for a long time about his struggle for the liberation of East Timor high in the mountains with “one powerful country”… About how the Soviet Union supported him – both in the mountains and on the plain.
“We have been independent for 24 years,” he said. “But not economically…
And it even seemed that he wanted or even decided to become dependent on Russia. And just about…
And they stayed to discuss the details.
But there was no spark. The Prime Minister of East Timor, it seems, simply ran out of energy towards the end of the race. It was easier for him in the mountains.
And there was still a meeting ahead with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
And it began.
But then it turned out that everyone was on their feet except the Cambodian translator. He wasn’t there.
And the man turned out to be key. It was impossible to start without him.
“This is fatigue…” Mr. Putin nodded.
The Cambodian Prime Minister agreed.
On the other hand, he’s tired, yes, but why isn’t he tired?
“He’s probably gone to rest,” said the president. “We’ll find it now… Is it already underway?”
No, I didn’t.
And perhaps I couldn’t remember anything like this.
Time passed.
“You found it, no?..” Mr. Putin asked, not so patiently.
“His working day is over,” Maxim Oreshkin called fire on himself.
“Yes…” sighed the Russian president. “It’s probably really over.” Now he will demand double payment.
They finally found a translator.
The Prime Minister of Cambodia, in my opinion, did not understand anything.
Of course, there was no translator.
