Putin answered questions about "zeroing the deadlines" and the case of Ivan Safronov

Answering the question about the timing, Putin said: “Answering this question, you need to understand - will it go to the good of the country? If it does, then it is worth doing. I haven’t made a decision for myself whether I will go to the polls or not in 2024. But as for the stable development of the country, it costs a lot. Formally, there is permission from the people".

Speaking about the case of Ivan Safronov, Putin said: “He took information from open sources or from undisclosed sources - this investigation must clear it out. After all, he is not being tried for his journalistic activities... He’s not some dissident journalist who is fighting the government, and for this they pinned him down and put him in jail. This has nothing to do with his journalistic activities, but is connected with the rather long period of his work as an assistant or advisor to Rogozin, when he worked in the government and in Roscosmos. that he could have stumbled, for this it could be forgiven. It also happens. We must look at the degree of public danger of the deed. The biggest sin that we have is betrayal".

Ivan Safronov, an advisor to the head of Roscosmos, was detained on July 7 in Moscow and arrested for two months on suspicion of treason under Art. 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the investigation, Safronov allegedly transferred secret information to a Czech secret service officer regarding the supply of weapons to countries in Africa and the Middle East. From the Czech Republic, these data were allegedly transferred to the United States. How exactly the transfer took place, and how Safronov, who did not have access to state secrets, became the owner of classified information, the investigation did not report. In the case of treason, Safronov faces up to 20 years in prison.

Former special correspondent for Kommersant and Vedomosti, Ivan Safronov, does not admit his guilt and believes that the persecution is related to his journalistic activities. His colleagues do not believe in Ivan's guilt either: more than 140 journalists, politicians and human rights activists have signed guarantees for Safronov.