Russian President Vladimir Putin stated he is ready to negotiate with President-elect Donald Trump to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. During the annual “News Conference and Direct Line With the People of Russia” question-and-answer session broadcast on Russian state television, Putin expressed Russia’s willingness to reach a long-lasting peace deal:
Politics is the art of compromise, and we have always said that we are prepared for negotiations and compromises…. They’re running out of Ukrainians who would like to fight, I don’t think there are any left. We are prepared, but the other side must be prepared as well, to negotiate and to compromise.
Trump’s Promise and Putin’s Conditions
While Trump has not provided details on his promise to quickly end the war, Putin maintains that Ukraine should abandon its NATO membership aspirations. He also said that Russia will not make concessions from territory it has taken. Putin suggested the unimplemented Istanbul Communiqué agreement signed shortly after the start of the war in March 2022 should serve as a starting point for negotiations.
Russia’s “Special Military Operation” Capabilities
Putin repeated claims that the “special military operation” is a defensive action, alleging the invasion of Ukraine was necessary to stop NATO expansion along their border. He said Russian forces continue to make progress toward achieving the strategic objectives “outlined at the beginning of the special military operation.”
He also spoke about Russia’s military capabilities, noting the recent test-firing of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) in November, and said he is prepared to launch the missile system again, challenging Western anti-missile defense systems to attempt an intercept:
There is no chance the missile is going to be brought down by the anti-missiles. So if the experts in the West think so, well, let them come up with a proposal to us, and the U.S. can suggest kind of a technological experiment, kind of a high-tech fighting duo of the 21st century. They can designate a target, say in Kiev. They can concentrate all of their air defense and anti-missile defense there, and we will strike it with Oreshnik, and we’ll see what’s going to happen. We’re willing to conduct such an experiment. What about the other side?
