In a four-hour-long year-end press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Thursday that there would be no peace in Ukraine until his country’s objectives were achieved and that those objectives remained unchanged.
Putin held his yearly televised ‘Direct Line’ Q&A session with Russian citizens on Thursday, known as the “Year-End Recap with Vladimir Putin,” an annual event, which was paired with his year-end press conference with Russian and international journalists this year.
Russia’s Objectives in Ukraine Remain Unchanged
“There will be peace when we achieve our goals, which you have mentioned. Now let’s return to these goals – they have not changed. I would like to remind you how we formulated them: denazification, demilitarisation, and a neutral status for Ukraine,” the Russian President stated in response to the fourth question during the interview.
Regarding Ukraine’s demilitarisation goal, Putin said that certain parameters were agreed upon in 2022 during the talks in Istanbul. “It’s just that these agreements were thrown out later,” he said, adding “But we did agree on that. There are other options either to agree or to achieve this by force. This is what we will strive for.”
“As of yesterday evening. We have also destroyed almost 2,300 armoured vehicles of various types. This is what is called demilitarisation,” he remarked.
In terms of denazification, Putin stated that during the negotiation process, “[Ukraine] did not agree that some kind of denazification was needed, and they said that there was no fascistisation, no growth of such sentiments.”
The Russian leader also criticised Kyiv’s administration for giving a standing ovation to a former SS soldier who took part in the Holocaust, the extermination of 1.5 million Jews in Ukraine, Russians, and Poles, asserting, “Is this not a manifestation of Nazism? Therefore, the issue of denazification is relevant.”
Putin stated that the Ukrainian crisis is a tragedy, similar to a civil war between brothers, and that “Russians and Ukrainians are essentially one people. What is happening now is an immense tragedy; it is like a civil war between brothers who stand on different sides [of the conflict]. But overall, they are not, to a large extent, responsible for this.”
Speaking at the annual press conference, Putin said that that peace with Ukraine is only possible when Russia achieves its goals, namely denazification, demilitarization and neutral status of Ukraine pic.twitter.com/7xtJaV7176
— RT (@RT_com) December 14, 2023
Possibility of Dialogue with US
Putin said Russia is ready to restart full-fledged ties with the US, but a fundamental groundwork must first be prepared for this to happen.
He said this would happen “as soon as [Americans] change on a deeper level, and begin to respect other people, other countries, start searching for compromises instead of addressing their problems using sanctions and military force.”
“We believe that America is an important country on the world stage. But this absolutely imperial policy the country pursues is bad for them,” Putin asserted.
Main Goal as President: Sovereignty
A reporter inquired about Putin’s primary objective as president when he chose to run for office again, to which he replied, “For a country like Russia, existence, mere existence, is impossible without sovereignty. Without sovereignty, Russia would cease to exist. Therefore, our main objective is to strengthen sovereignty.”
“Strengthening sovereignty on the international stage involves enhancing our defence capability and security on the external contour. It also includes strengthening social sovereignty, which means providing safeguards for the rights and freedoms of our citizens, as well as developing our political and parliamentary systems. And lastly, it includes economic security and sovereignty, as well as technological sovereignty,” he added.
Russia-China Cooperation “Unprecedented”
“The level of our cooperation with the People’s Republic of China is unprecedented. We have said many times that we hope to reach $200 billion in trade next year,” the Russian leader said.
Putin highlighted both countries’ bilateral cooperation in the military, economic, and humanitarian domains. “However, we are not creating any blocs. And our friendship is not directed against third countries — it is aimed at benefiting ourselves, but not at harming anyone,” he added.
Additionally, he stated that the partnership between Russia and China is a major guarantor of international stability. “As for BRICS and our role, I will not say anything new here either, but this axis is obviously strengthening, namely, Russia-China relations constitute a major factor in guaranteeing global stability.”
Russia, US Discuss Prisoner Exchange
Putin explained that Russia is in talks with the US for a prisoner exchange and expects to reach a solution that is acceptable for both sides.
“I wouldn’t say that we refuse to release them. We don’t. We want to reach an agreement and this agreement should be mutually acceptable and satisfy both sides.”
The president acknowledged that this was not an easy conversation. “I’ll refrain from going into detail now but in general I think we are speaking the same language. I hope we will find a solution.”
Putin Comments on Russophobia
According to Putin, there has been an increase in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and Russophobia around the world.
“As for an increase in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Russophobia, and other similar manifestations, well, yes, they do seem to be rising, and there is an upward trend,” he said in response to a question regarding rising global nationalism and anti-Semitism.
“This surge is evident, as the number of such people is on the rise. There is nothing good here, and yet this is the result of certain elitist policy,” Putin argued.