Brexit: Vladimir Putin warns against second referendum and throws weight behind May

Not to implement Brexit would be to repudiate 'direct democracy', he says during annual press conference

Depending on who you speak to, it is either the media event of the year, or a homage to a man who only answers his own questions. Like it or loathe it, Vladimir Putin’s annual press-conference generally creates headlines.

The 14th edition of this carefully-managed show was no exception, with Putin unexpectedly throwing his weight behind Theresa May’s Brexit plans.

“The referendum happened,” he said. “What can she do? She should fulfil the will of her nation, as expressed at the referendum. Or it isn’t a referendum.”

The Kremlin has been accused of attempting to influence the initial Brexit vote, but that did not deter the Russian president from warning against a second vote.

Not to implement Brexit now would be to repudiate “direct democracy”, he said, adding: “Is it democracy not to care about this Brexit and continue voting until someone is happy with the result?”

Overall, Putin presented little in the way of a new agenda. As in previous episodes of the marathon conference, he declared that Russia’s economy was resilient, the outside world was aggressive, Ukraine was blinkering on collapse, and his watch would eventually deliver a “technological breakthrough”.

Yes, things weren’t always great, he said, but they had been worse. Ten years ago, in the midst of crisis, there was negative growth!

Sanctions? What of them? Russia has faced sanctions throughout history. This time, Russia was more than coping. It was the west that was really losing. “Just look at Spain! They have 15 per cent unemployment while we have 3.8 per cent!”

And what of the disease-ridden landfill sites that have so enraged working class Russians in recent months? Russia would build new recycling plants – but remember there are “entire islands of rubbish in the Pacific Ocean.”

At times, it almost seemed that Putin was bored and irritated with the format. He only really became engaged when talking about nuclear weapons.

He repeated promises to build Russia’s strategic arsenal. This, he said, was a response to the US decision to withdraw from the 1987 intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty, and their apparent intention not to renew another cold war arms treaty.

“The risks of a nuclear war are growing and underestimated,” he said. “People shouldn’t squeak when we try to add capacity. We aren’t adding capacity, we are preserving balance.”

On the main metric of the yearly show – the number of hours journalists are kept inside without food or water – this year fell somewhat short of the record. The press conference lasted just under 4 hours, or 50 minutes short of the 2008 show.

But it was a record on the attendance count, with 1,700 journalists packed inside the hall. Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov made a point of declaring that his staff had gone out of their way to assist foreign journalists in accreditation — unlike the British, he said, who were causing trouble for RT.

Only those with a criminal record, or “with various illnesses” had been denied accreditation, Peskov said.

Accreditation was not, however, an automatic guarantee of entry. At least one journalist was turned away at the doors of the hall despite possessing the golden hologrammed card. In Roman Dobrokhotov’s case, the crime of identifying the two GRU agents accused of the Skripal poisoning seems to have played against him.

One affliction that certainly did not bar entry to the hall was Putinmania.

Throughout the event, journalists were encouraged to shriek to gain the main man’s attention. Some came in fancy dress to stand out (think hockey gear, snow maiden outfits and regional costume). Others bore placards with the name of their region, publication or something more abstract (for example, “I’m from the future. Ask me what it’s like there”).

Almost on cue, they applauded the president, booed any question that could be deemed too hostile, and lobbed in their own softballs.

Some of the zingers served up today included an offer to go skiing, a long-winded New Year’s greeting, and a simple “how are you feeling?”

As usual, the most interesting questions were the ones that went unanswered and unasked. The president sidestepped a question about the role of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a shady associate accused of creating troll farms and private armies, and who has been nicknamed the “president’s chef” on account of his propensity to win state catering contracts.

“My only cooks are employees of the presidential security service,” the president said.

Putin then whataboutised the deaths of three journalists in the Central African Republic, ignoring questions about Prigozhin’s alleged role in the affair. “Journalists are killed in Ukraine too,” he said.

And there was certainly no mention about what happened to the two men Putin personally presented as “ordinary Russian citizens”, but later identified as military intelligence agents Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin.