Putin sets conditions for peace

Russia - Putin sets conditions for peace

Russian President Vladimir Putin has named neutral status and the demilitarization of the country as conditions for an end to hostilities in his war against Ukraine. "Peace will come when we have achieved our goals," said the Kremlin leader at his major press conference at the end of the year. One of these goals is for Ukraine to renounce its membership of NATO. Observers saw this as an offer to the West, asking Ukraine to capitulate in the war.

The question of when the war would end was one of the most frequently asked. At the media spectacle broadcast by state television for more than four hours, during which citizens were also able to put questions to the president, Putin appeared self-satisfied despite some critical questions.

Ahead of the presidential election in March, in which he intends to run for the fifth time, he once again promised to solve the country's problems - be it the low pensions, the high price of eggs and the often unresolved social status of war returnees or the comparatively high prison sentences for citizens who are hardly guilty of anything. And to the relief of many women, he spoke out against a ban on abortion.

Signals of cooperation - exchange of prisoners?

In response to questions from Western journalists, who have not had access to such events for a long time, the 71-year-old was demonstratively friendly - and signaled a willingness to cooperate. Moscow was prepared, for example, to exchange the US-Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, who were imprisoned for espionage, for Russian prisoners. "These agreements must be acceptable to both sides," said Putin.

The "Wall Street Journal" correspondent Gershkovich has been in custody since March. The US government and the newspaper reject the espionage allegations against the 32-year-old. In the past, Russia has repeatedly released serious criminals in this way.

Putin repeatedly emphasized that the West had broken off contact with Russia in the course of the war and was thus harming itself. He himself, however, pointed to the solid economic data of the raw materials power, which many in the USA and the EU had not expected. Russia had strengthened its own sovereignty despite pressure from the West.

Putin owes growth to the war economy

Gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 3.5 percent this year, Putin said. He admitted that inflation, at between 7.5 and 8 percent, was above the target he had set himself. However, the Kremlin leader was optimistic that price increases would be lower next year.

According to Putin, real wages have also risen by eight percent despite inflation. The Russian economy had shown unexpectedly high resilience. He did not mention that the growth was particularly due to the war economy and arms production. Experts repeatedly emphasized that this was not natural or healthy growth.

Kremlin chief wants to win the war primarily with volunteers

Putin wants to win the war against Ukraine without a new partial mobilization feared by many Russians. The number of volunteers in the war will reach half a million by the end of the year, with 1,500 being added every day. However, Putin praised the fact that the 300,000 soldiers called up after the controversial partial mobilization last year were producing excellent results. "They are fighting excellently."

According to Putin, the total number of Russian soldiers in the war zone is 617,000. He did not say anything about the number of casualties. Ukraine puts the number of Russian casualties - dead and injured - at more than 340,000. Putin continued to bomb Ukraine on Thursday.

Putin held his first major press conference after a break last year due to the war. The question and answer session for journalists was combined as a media spectacle on state television with the TV show "The Direct Line", in which citizens can describe their problems, to form the "Results of the Year" program.

Millions of questions for Putin - but few answers

It was the first time since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022 that he had spoken in such a TV format. There was also repeated criticism, which Putin smiled away in most cases - or made jokes about. One question asked why Putin's reality did not match the reality experienced by Russians.

The question and answer session staged by the state media with hand-picked journalists and citizens is also considered particularly convenient for Putin because hardly any questions are allowed - and the president always has the last word anyway. At least one young reporter said that he didn't know the country any other way than with Putin in power. A pensioner who asked for a solution to the problem of expensive chicken eggs called him "my favorite president". Putin explained the price jump with the high demand and low supply. However, there should soon be more eggs.

What the experts say

The political scientist Tatyana Stanovaya spoke of a "strange" show, because Putin usually loves to argue about everything, defends the power apparatus and dismisses problems with technical reasons. The spectacle shows that Putin feels safe. "He believes that the people are on his side," she said. That is why Putin had promised "very little" this time - unlike usual when he gives out gifts of money at the end of the year, for example.

According to Moscow expert Alexander Kynev, Putin had focused on calm and love of peace and refrained from aggression - as an alternative to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is asking for help. In view of the presidential election, the Kremlin's approach was logical because Putin wanted to show that everything was running normally and that there was no reason for a radical change of course. The message was that everything was under control in Russia.