Alexander NEMENOV/AFPRussia’s President Vladimir Putin has stated there shall be no extra wars after Ukraine if Russia is handled with respect – and claims that Moscow is planning to assault European international locations are “nonsense”.
In a marathon televised occasion lasting virtually 4 and a half hours, he was requested by the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg whether or not there could be new “particular army operations” – Putin’s time period for the full-scale conflict.
“There will not be any operations for those who deal with us with respect, for those who respect our pursuits simply as we have at all times tried to respect yours,” he asserted.
His remarks have been consistent with a current remark through which he stated Russia was not planning to go to conflict, however was prepared “proper now” if Europe wished to.
He additionally added the situation,”for those who do not cheat us such as you cheated us with Nato’s eastward growth”.
He has lengthy accused Nato of going again on an alleged 1990 Western promise to then Soviet chief Mikhail Gorbachev earlier than the autumn of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev later denied the comment had been made.
The “Direct Line” marathon mixed questions from the general public at giant and journalists from throughout Russia in a Moscow corridor, with Putin sitting beneath an infinite map of Russia that encompassed occupied areas of Ukraine, together with Crimea.
Russian state TV claimed greater than three million questions had been submitted.
EPAThough it was largely choreographed, some important feedback from the general public appeared on a giant display screen, together with one which referred to the occasion as a “circus”, one other bemoaning web outages and one which highlighted poor-quality faucet water. Cell web outages have been blamed by authorities on Ukrainian drone assaults.
Putin additionally addressed Russia’s faltering financial system, with costs rising, progress on the slide and VAT going up from 20 to 22% on 1 January. One message to the president learn: “Cease the loopy rise in costs on all the things!”
The Kremlin commonly makes use of the end-of-year occasion to focus on the resilience of the financial system and, as Putin spoke, Russia’s central financial institution introduced it was reducing rates of interest to 16%.
Overseas coverage points have been combined with musings concerning the motherland, reward for native companies, fish costs and the significance of taking care of veterans.
However the subject of just about 4 years of full-scale conflict in Ukraine was by no means distant and it was usually within the background of lots of the questions.
Putin once more claimed to be “prepared and keen” to finish the conflict in Ukraine “peacefully” however provided little signal of compromise.
He repeated his insistence on rules he had outlined in a June 2024 speech, when he demanded that Ukrainian forces depart 4 areas Russia partially occupies and that Kyiv offers up its efforts to hitch Nato.
Chief amongst Russia’s calls for is full management of Ukraine’s japanese Donbas, together with about 23% of Donetsk area which Russia has not been in a position to occupy.
Putin argued Russian forces have been making advances throughout the entrance line in Ukraine and he ridiculed Volodymyr Zelensky’s go to to the entrance line at Kupiansk final week, when the Ukrainian chief was in a position to refute Russia claims that it had captured the city.
Putin has additionally demanded new elections in Ukraine to be included within the peace proposals that US President Donald Trump has submitted as a part of his efforts to carry the battle to an finish. At his information convention, Putin provided to cease bombing Ukraine when voting occurred.
Ukraine’s SBU safety service stated on Friday it had for the primary time hit an oil tanker working as a part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” within the Mediterranean. Putin stated it will not result in the end result that Kyiv wished and wouldn’t disrupt Russian exports.
A lot of the questions from Russian media or from the general public made little try to problem Putin, however two have been allowed from Western correspondents, Keir Simmons of US community NBC and the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg.
When Simmons requested if Putin would really feel accountable for the deaths of Ukrainians and Russians if he rejected the Trump peace plan, Putin praised the US president’s “honest” efforts to finish the conflict, however stated it was the West not Russia that was blocking a deal.
“The ball is within the arms of our Western opponents,” he stated, “primarily the leaders of the Kyiv regime, and on this case, before everything, their European sponsors.”
Trump has stated a peace deal is nearer than ever and, regardless of Putin’s obvious refusal to compromise, the US president has stated he hopes “Ukraine strikes rapidly as a result of Russia is there”.
A Ukrainian delegation is holding talks in Miami on Friday with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. German, French and British officers are additionally there, days after they met the US officers in Berlin.
Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev can be anticipated in Miami over the weekend, in line with reviews.
Putin advised the BBC’s Russia Editor: “We’re able to work with you – with the UK and with Europe normally and with the US, however as equals, with mutual respect to one another.
“We’re able to stop these hostilities instantly, supplied that Russia’s medium- and long-term safety is ensured, and we’re able to cooperate with you.”
He accused the West of making an enemy out of Russia. Skating over his resolution to mount a full-scale invasion in February 2022, he stated: “You might be waging a conflict towards us with the arms of Ukrainian neo-Nazis,” earlier than repeating his common diatribe towards Ukraine’s democratically elected leaders.
European intelligence companies have warned that Russia is just a few years away from attacking Nato. The Western defensive alliance’s chief Mark Rutte stated this month that Russia was already escalating a covert marketing campaign and the West needed to be ready for conflict.
Whereas lots of the questions have been benign, together with a number of from youngsters, from a one reporter from Yakutia in north-eastern Siberia highlighted a tenfold improve in vitality costs prior to now 4 years. Putin advised her that his workforce would look into various sources of vitality and “preserve Yakutia in thoughts”.
In direction of the tip of the TV marathon, Putin was requested a sequence of quickfire questions, bearing on his views on friendship, faith, the motherland and love at first sight. He stated he believed in love at first sight – then added that he himself was in love, with out divulging any extra particulars.
