Russian President Vladimir Putin said that there will not be any wars for Ukraine and then for Europe as well, if Russia receives respect. Threats to attack European nations from Moscow are “nonsense,” during almost four and a half hours of live coverage on Thursday.
“There won’t be any operations if you treat us with respect, if you respect our interests just as we’ve always tried to respect yours,” Putin said. Putin has added a new condition: “if you don’t cheat us as you cheated us over Nato’s eastern expansion.”
He has repeatedly accused NATO of violating an alleged pledge in 1990 that existed before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The late leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, had denied that the pledge was made. Putin’s statement was consistent with a recent quote in which he stated that Russia was not going to war, but was ready “right now,” should Europe want a fight.
Questions came from the public and members of the Russian press corps in “Direct Line,” which took place in Moscow. This session saw Putin seated under an enormous map of Russia that included the parts that had been occupied in Ukraine, Crimea among them. State-run Russian TV asserted that two million-plus questions had been received.
Economic Problems & Growing Prices
He also spoke about the state of his country’s economy with rising prices, growth slowing down, and a rise in VAT to 22% on January 1. “Stop this mad rise in prices for everything!” was another message to the President.
“The Kremlin always uses this event at the end of each year to demonstrate that everything in the economy is just fine,” said Sophia, a journalist. As President Putin spoke, Russia announced it would cut interest rates to 16 per cent.
Foreign policy matters combined with talk about the mother country, admiration for local businesses, fish prices, and caring for veterans. However, the question of almost four years of all-out war in Ukraine never wandered far into the background of many questions.
Putin once more asserted his “readiness and willingness” to “peacefully” conclude the war in Ukraine, but there seemed to be no hint of a settlement on his part. The Russian leader reaffirmed the conditions set in his speech in June 2024, including the exit of the Ukrainian army from the four territories that Russia has invaded, and the abandonment by the “Kyiv authorities” of their desire to become Nato members.
Among these demands is the control of the entire Donbas region within Ukraine, citing that 23 per cent of Donetsk is under the control of Russia, which cannot be occupied by Russia.
Putin Rejects Ukrainian Successes
Putin said that his troops were pressing ahead along all of the front line in Ukraine. He also jeered at President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the front line at Kupiansk last week, where President Zelensky had proved Russia’s assertion that they had captured the town to be wrong.
Another requirement Putin set that US President Donald Trump ought to have included in his peace plans to put an end to this war is that there should be fresh elections in Ukraine. During his press conference, Putin promised to halt the bombing of Ukraine during Putin: No More Wars If West Respects Russia..
Simmons asked Putin whether he would feel responsible for the deaths of Ukrainians and Russians if he did not accept the Trump peace plan, and Putin praised the “sincere” efforts of the US president “to end the war.” However, Putin did not put the blame on Russia, which is what Simmons had asked, but rather placed it on the West.
“The ball is now in the hands of our Western opponents,” he stated, “primarily the leaders of the Kyiv regime, and in this case, first and foremost, their European sponsors.”
Peace Talks Continue in Miami
Trump has asserted that a peace agreement was closer than ever. Regardless of Putin’s unwillingness to reach a compromise, the U.S. president expressed hopes that “Ukraine moves quickly because Russia is there.”
The meetings are taking place in Miami on Friday between the Ukrainian delegation and Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. German and French representatives, as well as British, are also taking part, just days after they met with US representatives in Berlin. Kremlin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is expected to attend Miami meetings over the weekend, according to reports.
He blamed the West for turning Russia into an enemy. Glossing over his intention to invade Ukraine in its entirety in February 2022, he said, “You wage a war against us through the hands of Ukrainian neo-Nazi fascists,” dwelling on his familiar diatribes against the democratically elected government of Ukraine.
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