Putin's press-conference lasted almost four hours

The following are key highlights made by Russian president Vladimir Putin during a four-hour conference:

On Saakashvili:

“What he is doing is a spit in the faces of Georgians and Ukrainians. Running around and shouting that he is a Ukrainian. How do you put up with this? Watching it causes me pain.”

On Syria:

“Russia has fulfilled the task of exterminating ISIS. ISIS as a political entity is over. Some pro-ISIS forces remain in Syria, but they are not to be taken seriously after such a major defeat.”

“It was my initiative to send policemen from the North Caucasus to Syria, since they are Sunni and Syrians trust them more.”

On Syrian refugees:

“It is primarily a problem for Turkey that hosted more refugees than any other country. Syria can’t manage the problem without assistance. Not fearing stereotypes, I`d like to say that all people who have good intent should understand that this is going to be their problem if the issue is not addressed by all of us.”

On Russian troops in Ukraine:

We never claimed that there are no people in Ukraine who are addressing certain issues, even in the military sphere. But it doesn’t mean that our troops are present in Ukraine, there is a difference.”