Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: As you know, the Russian government made a decision to continue implementing measures that proved sufficient last year to support the country's real economy and to take additional efforts to support the sector in 2010.

Specifically, the measures to support the national automotive industry include allocating budget funds to the purchase of cars that are 10 years and older from members of the public. We have arranged that your Ministry will promptly develop recommendations to implement the plans.

I am aware this will not be easy, given that experiments of this kind have never taken place in Russia before. We lack sufficient facilities to dismantle cars for scrap as well as logistic schemes to deliver them to scrap yards. There are also a number of financial and bureaucratic issues to be dealt with.

All this has to be done, as we have already mentioned, in such a way as to make the system as efficiently as possible in economic terms, and to provide actual support for the country's automotive industry while not being burdensome to the general public.

I know that you have developed the corresponding draft resolution. Let us proceed to the discussion of it.

Viktor Khristenko: Mr Putin, in accordance with your order, we have completed the work on agreeing the fundamental resolution setting out the basic terms and conditions for commencing the project to stimulate the purchase of newly built vehicles, and the dismantling of the old ones for scrap.

First, the outline resolution stipulates that 10 billion roubles will be allocated for the purchase of new cars, with a subsidy of 50,000 roubles for each car, so the number of cars to be purchased totals 200,000.

Second, an additional sum of one billion rubles is to be allocated to pay the transport expenses of the companies involved in delivering used cars to scrap yards. These are the basic financial conditions which underpin the scheme.

Another crucially important point is that the experiment is open to any Russian citizen who owns a car made in 1999 or earlier, that has been in their personal use for at least one year.

As for the new cars, this initiative applies to the cars manufactured by Russian auto makers, such as VAZ, Lada, GAZ, UAZ, as well as foreign car manufacturers which have assembling plants based in Russia, with car models in full production, or under obligation for full production.

The aforementioned criteria are outlined in the draft resolution for approval.

We estimate that under the scheme approximately 60-65 different models of car made by Russian companies, and foreign brands who have assembling plants based in the country, will be available for purchase.

The most difficult point, which you have mentioned, is establishing a network of car salvage yards across the country. Currently, we estimate that there are 15 of them at most. Yet we count on the scheme and subsidies to attract enough vehicle owners interested in this project.

On the whole, the resolution makes it possible to begin the experiment, but the terms and conditions are yet to be finalised, with a number of documents still required to specify the items available. We plan to finalise these organisational issues with minimum effort required from the public until March 15, the date when salvage yards will start processing old cars as part of this experimental policy.

Vladimir Putin: Why the 15th of March?

Viktor Khristenko: We estimate that we need approximately two months to...

Vladimir Putin: Let us make it the 8th of March.

Viktor Khristenko: The 8th? That's fine.

Vladimir Putin: Good.