Vladimir Putin assured Thursday that he had not seen Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president who was overthrown in early December and who found refuge with his family in Russia, but said he “intends to do so”.
“I have not yet seen President Assad since his arrival in Moscow, but I intend to do so. I will certainly speak to him,” he declared during his major annual press conference, in response to a question from an American journalist.
Putin denies Russian defeat in Syria
The fall of Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Moscow, is not a “defeat” for Russia, Vladimir Putin also assured, while estimating that the Russian army, mobilized in Syria since 2015, had “achieved (its) objective”.
“We are trying to present what happened in Syria as a defeat for Russia. I assure you that is not the case.” “We came to Syria ten years ago to prevent a terrorist enclave from being created there, like in Afghanistan. Overall, we have achieved our objective,” he said.
Ready to meet Trump ‘any time’
Vladimir Putin also said Thursday that he was ready to meet American President-elect Donald Trump “at any time”, amid speculation about the launch of a possible peace process around Ukraine.
“I don’t know when I’m going to see him. He doesn’t say anything about it. I haven’t spoken to him in over four years. I’m ready to do it, of course. At any time,” the Russian president said.
The Kursk region is giving the Russian army a hard time
Vladimir Putin admitted Thursday that he did not know when his army would manage to push back Ukrainian forces from the Russian region of Kursk, a small part of which they have controlled since a surprise offensive in August.
“We will absolutely defeat them,” assured the Russian president during his major annual press conference, answering a question from a resident of this region. “But as for the question of a specific date, I’m sorry, I can’t say that now,” he admitted.
