Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted about the economy and hailed his troops' gains in Ukraine during his annual news conference and call-in show on Thursday, December 19, an event he uses to reinforce his authority and demonstrate sweeping control of the country’s political scene.
Putin began the tightly choreographed session by saying that Russia's economy is on track to grow by nearly 4% this year. He acknowledged that consumer prices are high, with inflation at 9.3%, but insisted that the economic situation remains "stable."
Putin, who has held power for nearly a quarter-century , also said the military was "advancing toward achieving our goals" in what he calls the special military operation in Ukraine, where his forces have made slow but steady gains. "The situation is changing radically, we are advancing along the entire front line," he said, asking people in the audience to unfurl a banner presented to him by marines fighting the Ukrainian forces that launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
That incursion has proved a major embarrassment for the Kremlin. Asked when Russian troops will drive Ukrainian forces out, Putin responded that "we will certainly kick them out" but wouldn't say how long it will take.
In response to a question about a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile that Russia used for the first time last month to strike Ukraine, Putin scoffed at claims by some Western experts that it could be intercepted by NATO's air defenses. He mockingly challenged Ukraine's Western allies to a "high-tech duel," suggesting that Moscow could give advance notice of a strike on Kyiv with the Oreshnik missile – and see if the West could protect the city. "Let's see what happens," he added with a smile.
Speaking after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, Putin said that he has not met the toppled Syrian president since he fled to Moscow but plans a meeting. "I haven't yet seen president Assad since his arrival in Moscow but I plan to, I will definitely speak with him," Putin told a US journalist at his annual press conference.
He said once he met Assad, he would ask the ousted Syrian president about the fate of an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago. The Biden administration has made it a priority to find Austin Tice. "We also can pose the question to people who control the situation on the ground in Syria," Putin said.
He also said Assad's fall was not a "defeat" for Russia, claiming Moscow had achieved its goals in the country. "You want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia," Putin said at his annual end-of-year press conference. "I assure you it is not... we have achieved our goals."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he was ready to meet US President-elect Donald Trump "any time."
"I don't know when I'm going to see him. He isn't saying anything about it. I haven't talked to him in more than four years. I am ready for it, of course. Any time," Putin said.