Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed any possibility of direct discussions with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, acknowledging the economic challenges his nation faces amid ongoing drone assaults from Kyiv breaching Moscow’s defenses.
Addressing an audience of business executives and international guests at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin derided Zelensky’s open letter seeking dialogue to end the four-year-long conflict in Ukraine, calling the request “boorish.”
“It’s either a strategy to enable talks or to ensure they never happen,” Putin remarked during a Q&A session with attendees.
“I believe it’s the latter,” he concluded.
Zelensky’s letter, his first direct communication to Putin since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, criticized the Russian leader’s age and lack of progress in the conflict. It also attacked Putin’s long-held control over the Kremlin, describing the war as a “personal choice” and a “war without real cause.”
President Trump weighed in on Thursday, suggesting that it “would be great” if Putin and Zelensky engaged in discussions.
But the Russian strongman shot it down, telling forum attendees he saw “no point” in meeting with his adversary.
“First, let experts work, work something out, and then we can meet to sign things,” Putin told the crowd, adding that there was still “work to do,” NBC News reported.
Putin also tried to downplay Russia’s economic tailspin while admitting that its deficit might surge this year – desperately claiming “inflation has slowed down significantly,” and expected it to hit about 5.2%.
Before taking the stage, he vowed to tighten Russia’s air defenses against continuous long-range Ukrainian drone strikes, acknowledging that some have still slipped past his defensive lines.
“To our regret, some of them break through,” he said of the drones, the outlet reported.
“Russia has an air defense system, we need to improve it, strengthen it, and we will do that.”
Putin’s comments came after Kyiv launched a massive drone blitz on Moscow’s largest fuel export hub in St. Petersburg Wednesday morning, just as he kicked off his glitzy annual “Russia’s Davos” showcase.
The humiliating strike hit just about 10 miles from the swanky venue, where high-profile guests were arriving as blasts rang out and clouds of smoke flooded the air after Russian air defenses failed to stop drones from slamming into Petersburg Oil Terminal.
Ukraine also battered the Kronstadt naval base and shipyard in Leningrad Oblast, with footage released by Kyiv officials showing damage to Russian warships, including the Baltic Fleet corvette Boikiy.
“We are certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means,” Putin told a small group of foreign media, adding that Russia agreed to terms with Trump in August during bilateral talks in Alaska.
“Naturally, the Ukrainian side would like us to suspend the advances made by Russian troops. But it would be better to end the war by agreeing to compromises that were discussed in Anchorage.”
Russia, meanwhile, has escalated its attacks on Ukraine over the last month, with the US-led peace talks still stalled over Putin’s maximalist demands for Zelenksy to cede major swaths of its land to Moscow.
With Post wires.
