Vladimir Putin has stated that he’s “ready” to enter into “negotiations” with President Donald Trump regarding the possible end of Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The Russian president said he’s open to discussing “compromises” with Trump to secure a ceasefire.
Putin revealed his desire for a “conversation” with Trump on Thursday during his lengthy annual year-end press conference.
During his successful 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said that he planned to negotiate a swift end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump suggested that he could possibly secure a deal even before taking office in January.
Putin was specifically asked about Trump’s desire to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
He responded to the question by stating that he is ready for “negotiations” and willing to make “compromises.”
“I don’t know when I’m going to see him,” Putin said.
“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.”
“If we ever have a meeting with President-elect Trump, I am sure we’ll have a lot to talk about,” he added.
Putin insisted Russia will not be in a weaker position to negotiate due to recent setbacks in the Middle East.
Speculation has mounted that Putin’s position may have weakened following the overthrow of Russia-backed Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and battlefield losses in Ukraine.
Responding to a question from NBC News reporter Kier Simmons, Putin said mockingly:
“You said that this conversation will take place in a situation when I am in some weakened state.
“And you, and those people who pay your salaries in the US, would very much like Russia to be in a weakened position.”
“I adhere to a different point of view,” Putin said.
“I believe that Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years.
“Why? Because we are becoming a truly sovereign country, we are already hardly dependent on anyone.”
Putin claimed Russia is “thinking” about whether it still needs its military bases in Syria.
The remark implies that it would be no great loss if the insurgent government decides to void Moscow’s leases and kick Russian forces out of the country.
He claimed the “overwhelming” majority of Syrians want the Russians to stay.
Offering his first public comments on the fall of the Assad regime, Putin said:
“We’ll need to decide for ourselves how our relationships will look with those political forces that now control and will control the situation in the country in the future.
“Our interests need to coincide.”
Putin added that he has not spoken with Assad since the deposed Syrian dictator sought refuge in Moscow.
However, he said that he does plan to meet with Assad.
He added that he promised to inquire about the fate of American journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped by the Assad regime in Damascus in 2012.
As for the situation in Ukraine, Putin claimed victory was in sight after years of bloody stalemate.
“We are moving towards resolving the primary aims that we set at the start of the special military operation,” he said.
“Our guys are fighting heroically.
“The capabilities of the armed forces are growing.”
Later in his question-and-answer session, Putin admitted that the war has been taking its toll on both sides.
“I understand that there is nothing good about what is happening to you,” he told a woman in the audience from Kursk.
“People are suffering heavy losses, hardships, and daily inconveniences, especially those related to children.
“But rest assured, we will do everything necessary. We will restore everything.”
Putin’s conference came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that, even with gigantic amounts of military and financial assistance from the United States and Europe, his forces would not be able to recapture the territory occupied by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
“De facto, these territories are now controlled by the Russians,” Zelensky told French newspaper Le Parisien on Wednesday.
“We do not have the strength to recover them.
“We can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table.”
Zelensky added that his government will not “give up our territories,” because “the Ukrainian constitution forbids us to do so.”
However, his concession that military force cannot accomplish that goal marks a significant shift in his rhetoric.
It also supports Putin’s claim that Russia would not enter ceasefire negotiations from a position of weakness.
Late last month, Zelensky conceded that Crimea could only be “brought back diplomatically.”
Crimea has been occupied illegally by Russian forces since 2014.
Zelensky also suggested NATO might declare all of the Ukrainian territory not yet seized by Russia to be under its protection.
The move would effectively freeze the current battlefront so ceasefire negotiations could begin.
Yet, it’s an implicit concession that Russia is likely to capture more of Ukraine if the war continues.
In October, Zelensky touted a “victory plan” for ending the war that was a great deal less ambitious than his “peace plan” proposal in 2023.
The 2023 plan envisioned Russia withdrawing from all occupied Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.
It also included demands for Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine for the war.
Even in October, Zelensky was still saying the only way to “force” a ceasefire was for Russia to “lose the war.”
However, he no longer uses such aggressive language.
