A combination of file photos showing Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump. Picture: Ivan Sekretarev/Reuters
RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has underscored his willingness to enter into talks aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict with the incoming US President Donald Trump any minute.
Although by his own admission he has not seen US President-elect Trump “for over four years”, he said: “I am ready to talk and meet with Trump at any time.”
The Russian leader was speaking during his much-anticipated end-of-year global media briefing in Moscow this week, an annual event that attracts the interest of diverse international audiences.
His media briefing is also marked by a direct line to the Russian President, combined with a Q&A session that this year attracted some 2 million questions.
President Putin’s Q&A session is unique in that he is the world’s only leader who holds live nationwide Q&A.
As expected, he spoke candidly on dozens of different issues, and answered many questions that came through the direct line, including some from the Western media.
His forthright undertaking to enter into negotiations with the incoming US administration has raised speculation that the conflict that started in 2022 could be nearing its end.
The outgoing President Joe Biden administration had mobilised Nato and the West to ostracise Russia, imposing an unprecedented barrage of economic sanctions against Moscow whilst propping up Kyiv with billions of US dollars and weapons.
“We will support Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky for as long as it takes,” outgoing Biden vowed. He was vehemently supported by the former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who scuppered efforts by both Russia and Ukraine to strike a deal with the facilitation of Türkiye.
Johnson had urged Zelensky to keep fighting to the last Ukrainian soldier. Today, Ukraine has run out of willing fighters, and many men young and old have fled the country to dodge conscription.
Remarks by Putin are in sync with Trump’s electioneering promise when he vowed to end the Ukraine war on the first day of taking office. He is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
His spectacular victory in the US polls on November 6 has set Europe on a tailspin. The bloc had whole-heartedly bought into Biden’s Ukraine strategy which now faces ignominious fall.
Ukraine’s Zelensky and many in the EU are worried that Trump will end the Ukraine war on terms more favourable to Moscow. But the Trump administration that is preparing to officially take power in a matter of weeks has said it is unacceptable that the conflict should continue.
Additionally, the Trump administration is unwilling to fund Kyiv’s war programme. On the face of Putin’s remarks, therefore, it appears that as for the war in Ukraine, the end is nigh.
Speaking on many other issues, Putin also issued a challenge to skeptics in the West who doubt the effectiveness of the new Russian hypersonic missile, Oreshnik, saying: “Pick any target in Kyiv and deploy all your air defense systems there. Let’s see what happens.”
As expected, Putin dedicated a significant amount of time updating on Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, where he believes that with each passing day, Russia gains more ground in the war.
“Over the past 24 hours,” he said, “Ukrainian forces sustained losses of up to 315 soldiers in the operational area of Russia’s Battlegroup Yug.”
He also said in the same period, Russian air defence systems “downed a guided Neptune missile and wiped out 154 Ukrainian drones”.
Turning to the economy, the Russian President said the economy grew by about 8% over the past year that coincided with the war in Ukraine. As things stand, Russian unemployment rate is at a record low of 2.3%, Putin said, adding that income for Russian citizens had also increased in the same period.
He attributed the positive economic performance largely to “sovereignty”. He said: “Sovereignty is vital for Russia because if it lost, then statehood is lost.”
Russia recently updated the country’s nuclear doctrine. Putin said that was done in order to make non-nuclear nations to think twice about threatening Russia.
He explained: “We also speak about raising the responsibility of non-nuclear states who might participate in aggression against the Russian Federation together with nuclear weapons states. And if such a country, like their allies, creates any threat to Russia’s sovereignty or to the very existence of Russia, then we believe we have the right to use our nuclear weapons.”
* Abbey Makoe is Founder and Editor-in-Chief: Global South Media Network. The views expressed here are his own.