MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin says he’s ready for talks at “any time” with US President-elect Donald Trump, who has touted his ability to strike a Ukraine peace deal within hours of coming to office.
Trump, who will return to the White House in January, has stoked fears in Kyiv that he could force Ukraine to accept peace on terms favorable to Moscow.
Holding his annual end-of-year press conference, the 72-year-old Kremlin leader says his troops hold the upper hand across the battlefield and he only regrets not starting the offensive earlier.
But he is forced to admit he doesn’t know when Russia will take back the western Kursk region where Ukrainian troops launched an incursion in August.
The traditional annual question and answer sessions are largely a televised show while also being a rare setting in which Putin is put on the spot with some uncomfortable questions.
Putin speaks for just under four and a half hours.
Asked about Trump’s overtures regarding a possible peace deal, Putin says: “I don’t know when I’m going to see him. He isn’t saying anything about it. I haven’t talked to him in more than four years. I am ready for it, of course. Any time.”
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 19, 2024
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