In a marathon press conference, Putin said he was ready to meet Trump and was open to negotiations on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has yet to meet exiled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad – even though he personally made the decision to grant the dictator and his family asylum when the longtime Syrian dictator fled the country after the collapse of his regime.

He made the comment during an annual press conference and question-and-answer session, where he answered questions from journalists in attendance and Russian citizens who submitted inquiries ahead of time.

Topics ranged from Syria, Ukraine, the Russian economy, and Putin’s relationship with US President-elect Donald Trump, all part of a carefully choreographed spectacle that lasted more than four hours.

Putin, who said he had not spoken with Trump in four years, said he was open to meeting with the next US president, who repeatedly pledged to end the war in Ukraine shortly after taking office on January 20.

While many of the questions from the audience came from journalists affiliated with Russian state media, NBC’s Keir Simmons asked Putin if he was willing to compromise when it comes to Ukraine — a question the Russian president did not fully answer.

“We are ready,” Putin said, without providing any details. “We just need the other side to also be ready to negotiate and reach a settlement.”

The Kremlin has repeatedly said that it will not negotiate with Ukraine unless it abandons its ambition to join NATO and withdraws its soldiers from territories currently controlled by Russian forces.

Kursk

Putin was also asked about Russia’s battle to reclaim hundreds of square kilometers of the Kursk region, which Ukraine still controls after a blitz in western Russia in August.

He added that Russian forces are fighting to retake Kursk, but there is no specific date for its “liberation.”

“The situation (on the front) is changing dramatically. There is movement along the entire front line every day,” he added.

He noted that the campaign against Ukraine should have begun before February 2022, saying that Russia had to “prepare for it systematically.”

Although he continued to praise the heroic efforts of Russian soldiers, there was no mention of the thousands of North Korean troops that Ukraine and the United States say are fighting alongside the Russians.

At least 100 of them were killed, according to a South Korean lawmaker who cited information from the South Korean spy agency on Thursday.

Russian state media reported that two million Russian citizens submitted questions ahead of Putin’s news conference on topics ranging from the cost of living to mortgage rates and what Russia still calls its “special military operation.”

economy

The first question was about Economy of Russiagiven the high inflation rate due to the country diverting money to the war effort. Across the country, there have been concerns about rising food and grocery prices.

Putin admitted that the inflation rate, which exceeds 9 percent, was a “worrying” figure, but said that government measures to calm the economy were successful. He added that economic growth is expected to reach about four percent this year and will slow in 2025.

“I think that (the growth rate) next year should range between 2 and 2.5 percent, which is a kind of soft landing in order to maintain macroeconomic indicators,” he said.

Syria

Putin was asked about the Russian presence in Syria, where it has two main military bases, the Hmeimim air base and a naval base in the port of Tartus.

Satellite images It suggests that Russia is transferring some military equipment, but Putin said that Russia had suggested that its “partners” use the air base for humanitarian purposes.

The future of the air base, which was used to launch strikes across Syria in support of Assad, is now in question, given that the rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, has taken control of Damascus, ousting Assad’s Russia-backed government. . He spent years supporting.

“In general, we have achieved our goal,” Putin said when talking about the rules. He added, “We are establishing relations with all the groups that control the situation there.

He also condemned Israel’s seizure of land in the country, and said he believed that Israel had no intention of withdrawing its forces from Syria.

American journalist Austin Tice

During the press conference, Simons asked Putin if he would speak with Assad about missing American journalist Austin Tice, who was captured during a press trip to Syria in August 2012.

Putin responded that Tice was someone who disappeared 12 years ago during a civil war, but then said he would ask Assad about the American when they talked.

Tice, a former US Marine, was one of the first American journalists to arrive in Syria after the start of the war.

US President Joe Biden said earlier this month that the government believed Tice was still alive. There was hope that Tice would be found among the thousands released from Damascus prisons.