MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was ready to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump “at any time” but regretted not launching a full-scale Russian military offensive sooner. I think so.
President Trump, who is scheduled to return to the White House in January, has called for negotiations to begin, raising concerns in Kiev that he may force Ukraine to accept peace on terms favorable to Russia.
At his annual year-end press conference, the 72-year-old said his troops had the upper hand on the battlefield.
He made the remarks as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met EU leaders in Brussels after Kiev said three people were killed in a Russian attack on northeastern Ukraine.
Putin sounded confident, but had to admit that he did not know when Russia would regain parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Kiev has occupied since August.
The traditional annual question-and-answer session is primarily a television show, but it is also an unusual setting in which Putin is asked uncomfortable questions on the spot.
President Putin spoke for just under four and a half hours.
Asked about Trump’s overtures regarding a possible peace deal, Putin said he would welcome talks with the incoming Republican.
“I don’t know when I will see him. He hasn’t said anything about it. I haven’t talked to him for more than four years. Of course, I’m ready for that. Any time,” Putin said. spoke.
“If we ever meet with President-elect Trump, we’ll talk about a lot of things,” he said, adding that Russia was willing to “negotiate and compromise.”
Russian troops have been advancing in eastern Ukraine for months, and President Putin has repeatedly touted their battlefield prowess.
But when asked when residents of the Kursk region would be able to return to their homes after thousands of people were evacuated from frontline areas due to Ukrainian military offensives, Putin said he could not give a date.
“We will definitely get rid of them. Absolutely. There is no other way. But I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a specific date right now,” he said.
Putin was also pressed about the economic headwinds facing Russia: the impact of massive increases in military spending and the severe labor shortage caused by the conflict.
He claimed that the situation was “stable despite external threats”, citing low unemployment and industrial growth.
In response to a question about soaring inflation, Putin said: “Inflation is a worrying sign.” He acknowledged that rising prices for foods such as butter and meat are “disgusting.”
He also acknowledged that Western sanctions were a factor, although not “in a significant way.” He added that he hoped the central bank, which is expected to raise rates again on Friday to rein in inflation, would take a “balanced” decision.
President Putin appeared to repeat his threat to attack Kiev with Russia’s new hypersonic ballistic missile called Oreshnik.
Asked by a military journalist whether the weapon was flawed, Putin suggested a “high-tech duel” between the West and Russia to test his claim that the weapon was impermeable to air defenses. did.
“Let us set a target to attack, for example in Kiev,” he said.
“They’re going to concentrate all their air defenses there. And they’re going to launch the Oleshnik attack there and see what happens.”
Zelenskiy shot back: “People are dying and he thinks it’s ‘interesting’, you idiot.”
President Putin has condemned the killing of a senior Russian military official in Moscow, which Kiev claimed was “terrorism.”
The former KGB official also offered rare criticism of the security services.
“Our special services miss these attacks,” he said, citing other recent murders.
“We must not allow such a very serious lapse to occur.”
Asked if he would have done anything differently if he could go back to February 2022, when he launched the attack on Ukraine, Putin said he only regretted not acting sooner.
“Knowing what’s going on now, you would think that such a decision… should have been made sooner,” he said.
And Russia “should have started preparing for these events, including special military operations,” he said, using Moscow’s official term for the conflict.
In his first public comments since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, President Putin rejected claims that his overthrow was a “defeat” for Russia.
“You are trying to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia. I assure you that it is not so,” Putin said.
“We came to Syria 10 years ago to ensure that terrorist enclaves, like those in Afghanistan, were not created there. Overall, we achieved our goal,” Putin said. spoke.
Putin said he had not yet met Assad, who fled to Moscow as rebels closed in on Damascus, but planned to do so soon.
