Putin, end-of-year show. Opens up to Trump and attacks Kiev: “Now no ceasefire”

MOSCA. Pwar propaganda and apparent openings to dialogue with Ukraine, threatening words and attempts to reassure people about a surge in inflation that he defines as “alarming”. But also a very rare criticism of his own secret services for failing to prevent the killing of General Kirillov in the heart of Moscow, and turns of phrase to downplay the possible repercussions of the fall of the Assad regime for the Kremlin.

In his end-of-year press conference – a TV marathon that went on for 4 and a half hours – Vladimir Putin touched on the most diverse topics. However, what absorbed much of the media attention were the words of the Russian dictator on the war in Ukraine, and above all his declared willingness to talk with Kiev and with the future US president Trump and his openness to “negotiations and compromises”. But it is an opening with many stakes, and which seems to exclude even Ukrainian president Zelensky himself, defined as “illegitimate” by Putin, from the negotiations.

The possibility that something is moving at a diplomatic level cannot be ruled out. In an interview with The ParisianZelensky admitted that Kiev does not have sufficient forces to retake Donbass and Crimea with weapons and that he is therefore relying on diplomacy. And Putin in recent days has stated that Russia cannot increase military spending “indefinitely”. But the situation still remains very, very complex. First of all, it is not at all clear what “compromises” Putin is referring to. While he answers questions from journalists, young couples and pensioners live on TV, behind him stands a huge blue screen with a map of Russia which also includes the Ukrainian territories that Moscow says it has annexed. A map that seems to carry a clear political message. First of all for Trumpwhich has promised to end the war and which, according to some analysts, may seek to use US military supplies to Ukraine as leverage to promote negotiations.

To date, at least officially, Putin’s regime has not taken any step back from its claims: the 4 Ukrainian regions that his troops only partially occupy, and Kiev outside NATO. However, Ukrainian soldiers on the other side control a slice of the Russian Kursk region. And when a woman asks him when the locals will be able to return to their homes, Putin replies that Russia will “absolutely” take back those territories, but he is forced to admit that he doesn’t know when.

Putin says he is ready for a dialogue “without preconditions” with Ukraine, “but on the basis” of what he calls “the 2022 Istanbul negotiation process” and “the reality that is taking shape on the ground”. And he says this at a time when the Russian military seems to continue to advance in bloody clashes. He then states that he wants “a long-term, lasting peace with guarantees” for Russia and not a truce which – according to him – would allow Ukrainian soldiers to regroup.

But in reality it is not clear who you imagine as an interlocutor. Kiev has in fact postponed the presidential elections due to the invasion, and Putin accuses the Ukrainian president of being “illegitimate”. The Russian dictator states that Moscow can only sign agreements with “legitimate” authorities (and indicates only Parliament). In any case, while waiting for Trump to return to the White House and for possible negotiations, Putin wants to appear in control of the situation and close to “victory”. He claims that Russia is getting closer to its “primary goals.” He shows the banner of the 155th Marine Infantry Brigade (which was accused of “atrocities” in Ukraine, according to the BBC) in front of the cameras and defines the Russian soldiers fighting near Kursk as “heroes”.

Then he sings the praises of the Oreshnik hypersonic rocket and from the top hat of his militaristic rhetoric he pulls out a provocation: an unlikely “technological duel” (and military) with the West. «Let them set some targets to hit, say in Kiev, and concentrate all their air defenses there: we will launch an attack with the Oreshnik right there and see what will happen», says Putin, who then goes so far as to say that he should have ordered the invasion of Ukraine first, but – he admits – with better military preparation.

The Russian president also has words for Italy: «Despite what is happening now, we perceive in Italian society a certain sympathy for Russia, just as we have for Italy», he said. And a reference to Silvio Berlusconi and their relationships, not only political but also personal, could not be missing. Asked who he would sit down to have tea with among the departed politicians, the president mentioned the Knight himself, along with the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and former French President Jacques Chirac. «Leaders from whom I have learned a lot,” said the Russian president.