Did President Putin deny man made CO2 driven Climate change?

50 minutes in to the video and Putin mentions an Island in the Arctic called Franz Joseph. He said that the Austrian explorer Mr Bayer had gone there in the 1930`s and later in the 1950`s The Italian President took pictures of the ice and when the Austrian explorer saw them and said that they ice had drastically disappeared within 20 years. He then said that there was no man made effects at that time 1920 and that it could be a “Planetary cycle” effect when answering a question on the USA position on Climate change.

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In the early part of the debate Putin said that commercialisation of the Arctic was inevitable and he expected a tenfold increase in Shipping traffic in the Arctic that he was planning for.

53 minutes in and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said he agreed with what Putin said but also pointed out that he was still hopeful with the Paris Climate change agreement.

55 minutes in and Putin looked at the ice on Franz Joseph island.. He saw evidence of black carbon on the ice from thousands of years ago that came from Mount Etna and was worse than man made causes of black carbon. Putin then addressed Iceland’s president, Gudni Johannesson. Earlier points but saying that science should be encouraged to develop business and protect the environment .

59 minutes in and the CNN reporter hosting the event, hit Putin with the USA election and Ukraine and Crimea.. Listen for your self .. “Bunch of lies” said Putin.. He goes on briefly to discuss some of the geopolitical issues in this area.
He then mentions cooperation with the USA including recent negotiations concerning the Bering straights where shipping agreements, scientific projects, safety and free travel between Alaska and Russia are in operation. He also mentions fishing and Polar bear conservation as the projected increase in shipping develops. Further to that, Putin talks of the developing of hydrocarbons and Russia working with Exxon, Mobil and other partners and that prospects are huge for the USA, Russia and the whole world, also that this will benefit relations with the USA and Russia (To a huge round of applause from the hundreds of attendees to the conference).

1 hr and 5 minutes in the CNN reporter hosting the conference then goes back off topic and reiterated the question, “you and the Russian government did not try to influence the US presidential American election and there will be no evidence found?”

Quoting Ronald Reagan Putin said “read my lips, No!”. The CNN reporter persisted and Putin said that the Russian conference wanted to cooperate with US authorities but here was blocks put up by the US authorities to clear up Russian business corruption.

1hr 12 min in and President Sauli Niinisto said that European dealings with Russia did not reflect the USA position. Even during the cold war where interrelations were still possible. Iceland’s president, Gudni Johannesson then pointed out that respect for international treaties and trust were very important and that even small countries had a voice in this process.

1 hr and 17 minutes in and the CNN host then mentioned Finland being in the American backed NATO treaty and then quoted General Mattis as saying that Russain moves in the arctic were “aggressive” . Putin responded “our aggressive steps?” and then the CNN host said it was “Umm a quote from James Mattis, the US defense secretary”
The audio on the video became bad at this point.. Putin defended this as the USA develops its military infrastructure in the area including its nuclear infrastructure. This means that Russia needs to retaliated because the US withdrew from the ABM treaty. He said that he is rebuilding the Arctic resources to limit smuggling, piracy and illegal fishing.. The Russian military infrastructure is dual use for emergency incidents , oil spills and scientists research deployment and that Russia is transparent and hopes for more cooperation with the USA on these matters.

1 hr 22mins in and Putin is asked by the CNN host how will cooperation be encouraged? An example of cooperation Putin said that aircraft transponders should be kept on when responding to concerns from Finland but when Putin asked for an agreement NATO said they would not comply. He then mentions the USA has the biggest military budget and the most planes flying. Putin did say that some cooperation is being agreed in Syria and he hoped this would expand to the Arctic. The Finnish Prime minister said that he asked for all transponders to be switched on and not just Russian planes. He also said that some NATO representatives are looking into turning transponders on. The discussion then turned to Syria and the need for global cooperation.
1hr 31 min in and the question of territorial claims (200 km from Russian border). Putin mentions the agreement with Norway and its successful conclusion in signing a treaty. The Icelandic prime minister added that the Arctic council was a general success and the issue of fish catch quotas were underway despite challenges. He also mentions difficulties with scientific differences and that the science behind fisheries has a good agreement.

1 hr 35 min in and the question of the future of the Arctic is mentioned.The host mentions that large contingent from China that wishes to make claims on its near Arctic resources. Putin mentions the international agreements and that all countries have the right to work in the arctic region mentioning business`s from N Korea China and India with 4 others. Rules of working on this area are underway. The Finnish minister mentions the N. eastern passage connecting the Pacific and Atlantic regions. Iceland`s minister acknowledged that other non Arctic nations have a right to resources and communication channels and mentioned that many discussions are underway irregardless of the size of the countries involved.

1hr 45 minutes in and the discussion turns to sanctions and Putin said that he doesn’t want to discuss these issues and other issues as there are ongoing discussions. He quotes concerns of the Arab spring and Ukrainian protests as the reason to clamp down on Russian protesters and sanctions destroying the lives of 100,000`s of Americans and Europeans effected by these sanctions. He hopes that future talks might might be a solution to this problem.

1 hr 53 minutes in and the host asks the ministers one way to move froward with positive outcomes.
Discussion, agreement, solutions and developing positive relations were mentioned and Putin said that he hoped these principles and agreements in the Arctic would spread globally.

Full video source on the International Arctic treaty can be found here ;

Streamed live on 30 Mar 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin is speaking at a plenary session of the International Arctic Forum, dubbed ‘The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue’. The conference is a major platform for discussing the problems and prospects of the Arctic. About 2,000 guests are expected at the forum in Russia’s northwestern city of Arkhangelsk, including Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Iceland’s president, Gudni Johannesson.