Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with President-elect Donald Trump “at any time” to discuss an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, he said Thursday.
In a strong divergence from the current administration’s strategy of aiding Ukraine “as long as it takes,” as many Biden administration officials have said, Trump has said he wants to end the conflict as quickly as possible to end the bloodshed on both sides, which would seemingly entail forcing Ukraine to accept a deal more favorable to Moscow.
“You asked what we can offer, or what I can offer to the newly elected President Trump when we meet,” Putin said. “First of all, I don’t know when we will meet. Because he hasn’t said anything about it. I haven’t spoken to him at all in over four years. Of course, I am ready for this at any time, and I will be ready for a meeting if he wants it.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told French outlet Le Parisien that Trump “knows about my desire not to rush things at the expense of Ukraine.”
Putin also pushed back on the notion during his annual marathon media availability Thursday that Russia’s bargaining position has been weakened.
“You said that this conversation will take place in a situation when I am in some weakened state … and you, and those people who pay your salaries in the U.S., would very much like Russia to be in a weakened position,” Putin said. “I adhere to a different point of view. I believe that Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years. Why? Because we are becoming a truly sovereign country, we are already hardly dependent on anyone.”
Putin admitted that he does not know when Russia will be able to drive out Ukrainian forces from the southwestern Kursk region, where Ukrainians have held a small amount of Russian territory. Russian forces, who are operating alongside more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers, have gained some of the territory back in recent weeks.
“The Russians have made significant ground in Kursk,” a senior U.S. military official said. “It will be a hard fight for the Ukrainians to hold what they have. I have no doubt that they can hold it for a period of time that extends at least a few months into the future. Whether they take some losses or gain some territory during those couple of months is difficult to say. Over the long-term, the challenge will be sustaining that position over time, just as the battlefield continues to evolve.”
The war has gone on for nearly three years, and both sides have lost hundreds of thousands of troops. Russia has more troops available than Ukraine, and it has sacrificed its numbers advantage for limited battleground advancement. Russia has sought the aid of Iran, North Korea, and China to help achieve its war aims.
Russian leaders claim their “special military operation” in Ukraine was in response to a growing threat from NATO, but since the war and in response to it, both Finland and Sweden sought membership and were admitted into the alliance.
Ukraine also seeks NATO membership. In July, NATO declared in a communique that Kyiv is on the “irreversible path” to ascension into the alliance.
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Ukrainian leaders have said they would not accept territorial concessions to end the war, viewing such a deal as an opportunity for Russia to refit and resupply its forces for another offensive.
Trump’s incoming Ukraine and Russia envoy, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, is set to travel to Kyiv and other European countries in January 2025 to meet with leaders about the war.
