Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed at his annual press conference on Thursday that his country has managed to overcome the effects of Western sanctions and achieved continuous economic growth in two years. He spoke about improving the standard of living in Russia, revitalizing several previously neglected sectors.
Although journalists ‘ questions during the event, which lasted more than five hours, touched on the living and economic aspects, the main attention was focused on the Ukrainian war and the prospects of moving to a negotiated political path after US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in the White House next month.
Putin said he was ready for dialogue with Trump if the latter wished. He stressed his readiness to launch “serious negotiations” on Ukraine.
It seemed remarkable that Putin was speaking in the tone of a victor, and said that his country has advanced extensively on the ground during the current year, and also provided modern military technologies that have been tested, such as the oreshnik missile, which he said that the West “has no counterpart, nor technologies capable of countering it.
In turn, he said that his country “can talk with Volodymyr Zelensky if he goes to the polls and gains legitimacy”. He added: “If someone goes to the polls and gains legitimacy, we will talk with anyone, including Zelensky . Now, if Ukraine really wants to follow the path of a peaceful settlement, it is able to do so, it can organize this process internally,” he stressed, stressing: “I just want to sign a peace with legitimate people”.
“Politics is the art of compromise, and we are always ready for negotiations and compromises .
But it is the opponent (Ukraine) who refuses negotiations.
The results of the negotiations should be compromises, and such solutions were reached in Istanbul at the beginning of 2022, and the initial document was ratified. But after the arrival of prime minister Boris Johnson – with a characteristic hairstyle – these solutions were rolled back. And the fueling began. Nevertheless, we are ready for negotiations and compromises,”he said.
Putin pointed out that the peace initiatives presented by China, Brazil and South Africa are of interest to us, because they are real attempts to search for real and balanced solutions, and do not bind any party, whether Ukrainian or Russian, and come from neutral countries that did not intervene in the crisis, as is being done with Western countries.
He also noted that Russia is ” ready to start peace negotiations without preconditions,” but added that talks are possible “on the basis of the Istanbul agreements, on the basis of the facts that have changed on the ground,” referring to the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces to Russia.
Putin said that the military operation launched in 2022 was an “urgent necessity” and added that “the Russian military operation on Ukraine has become a serious challenge for Russia, and for me personally, and we had to start this process before 2022”.
Answering a question about what has changed in him since the start of the military operation, he said: “I’m joking less, almost not laughing. There is another aspect, I am working on improving the ways of searching for fundamental issues to draw attention to the most important things and focus forces on solving them,”he said.
On the ground, Putin stressed that his troops are advancing very quickly, and added: “the Russian Armed Forces are regaining territory from the Ukrainian troops in square kilometers, not meters. He stressed that the counteroffensive launched by Russia to regain control in the Kursk province is achieving successes, and”Russian military personnel are expelling the enemy from our territory in Kursk.
Putin stressed opposition to a temporary truce. “It’s about what is happening on the ground, military equipment and personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being eliminated. Our army is moving forward, and the enemy cannot position itself in the areas to which it is retreating, it retreats in an orderly manner, but it is unable to establish its feet in the new positions,”he said.
“Freezing the conflict means giving the enemy the opportunity to prepare by recruiting by taking recruits to training sites as cannon fodder without training them . This is not a Soviet school, and not even a Western one”.
“The Ukrainian regime and its sponsors themselves do not know the art of war, so a period of calm will allow the enemy to strengthen its human capabilities. The units are there, but there is a huge shortage of human capabilities. We don’t need a ceasefire, we need a lasting and just peace that guarantees security for the Russian state and people,”he said.
Putin referred to the assassination of General Igor Kirillov, who is responsible for radiation and chemical weapons in Russia, calling it a “terrorist operation.
There have been a lot of terrorist acts in Russia by the regime in Kiev in a number of Regions. We have not heard a single condemnation of these operations from the Western press,”he said.
