Russian president strikes a noticeably favourable tone, downplaying Trump’s economic threats
Vladimir Putin has said he is ready to discuss the war in Ukraine with Donald Trump and suggested it would be a good idea for them to meet.
In his first comments since Trump issued threats to inflict economic damage on Russia if it failed to end the war in Ukraine, Putin struck a favourable tone towards the US president.
Putin told a Russian state TV journalist: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.
“It would be better for us to meet, based on the realities of today, to talk calmly.”
Putin went on to describe his relationship with Trump as “businesslike, pragmatic and trustworthy”.
He added that negotiating with Ukraine was complicated by the fact that its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had signed a decree preventing him from conducting talks with Putin.
In what seems to be an effort to court Trump’s favour, Putin echoed the US president’s claim that he would have prevented the war starting in Ukraine in 2022, and parroted Trump’s debunked assertion that the 2020 US elections were “stolen” from him.
In the days since his inauguration, Trump has repeatedly called for a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine, now nearing its third year, and has expressed his readiness to meet Putin “immediately”.
In his nightly video address late on Friday, Zelenskyy said that Putin was seeking to “manipulate” Trump.
“He is trying to manipulate the US president’s desire to achieve peace. I am confident that no Russian manipulations will succeed any longer,” he said.
Trump’s attempts to persuade Putin to negotiate have been reinforced by threats to escalate pressure on Russia’s already strained economy, including introducing sanctions and tariffs, if Moscow fails to “make a deal” to end the war.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday evening, Trump called on Opec to push down global oil prices as a way to hit a vital stream of revenue for the Kremlin.
“Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue,” he said.
Oil and gas revenues have been Russia’s most important source of cash, accounting for a third to a half of federal budget proceeds over the past decade.
On Friday, Putin downplayed Trump’s economic threats, saying “excessively” low oil prices were bad for both the US and Russia.
In response to Trump’s initial approach, Moscow officials are choosing their words carefully while maintaining a firm position on their demands to end the war.
“We don’t see anything new here,” Peskov said on Thursday when asked about Trump’s economic ultimatums.
Still, Trump’s threats seem to have stirred frustration among Moscow’s elite, with some politicians and nationalists reacting negatively, sentiments amplified on state TV.
A source in the Russian foreign policy establishment said: “Putin does not like public threats. He wants to be spoken to as an equal. It is clear that any deal will take some time.”
Some observers believe Putin may view Trump’s economic warning with scepticism.
Throughout the war, Putin has expressed confidence that Russia’s economy has withstood western sanctions better than anticipated by most economists, both inside and outside Russia.
Still, cracks in the economy are beginning to show as Russia struggles with runaway inflation while pouring billions into defence.
Despite this, many in the elite believe Russia’s ability to withstand at least another year of conflict means Putin is unlikely to let the economy influence his decisions.
Alexandra Prokopenko, a former Russian Central Bank official and Russian economy expert, wrote in a piece for Foreign Affairs that “simmering economic problems are unlikely to overpower the forces keeping Putin determined to continue the war in Ukraine”.
Russia has made gradual but steady advances in eastern Ukraine despite record casualties. Kyiv is facing a personnel crisis, prompting the Biden administration to urge Ukraine to lower its mobilisation age from 25 to 18.
Putin last outlined his position for peace talks during his annual end-of-year conference, demanding that the west lift all sanctions and Ukraine withdraw from the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
He also insisted that Ukraine abandon its Nato aspirations, become a permanently neutral state, and drastically reduce its military forces – moves that would in effect strip Ukraine of its sovereignty.
It remains unclear how flexible Putin is on these demands.
One source briefed on top-level Kremlin discussions about possible negotiation tactics suggested Moscow was curious about potential overtures from the US, but might have little interest in signing a deal. The source suggested Moscow could keep the talks going to prolong the fighting while shifting its terms for peace.
Several hardline figures close to Putin have recently said Ukraine’s capitulation is the only acceptable outcome.
On Friday, the businessperson Konstantin Malofeev, one of Russia’s most prominent conservative voices, reiterated Putin’s maximalist demands for peace. “We must achieve victory, which will eliminate the Ukrainian state as such. We are, of course, ready to stop military action, but only on terms that ensure our security for many years to come,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
While Trump has not given a detailed blueprint for ending the war, his running mate, JD Vance, has suggested Trump could push a “heavily fortified” demilitarised zone at the countries’ borders, freezing the war along the current frontlines.
Trump’s return to the White House has reignited discussions about the possibility of western peacekeeping forces being stationed in Ukraine to help maintain a ceasefire.
But the Russian foreign ministry has called the idea “unacceptable”, while also dismissing calls to freeze the war along the frontlines.
Still, the situation remains in flux, and this week Trump made statements that appeared aimed at soothing Moscow.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, he described President Zelenskyy as “no angel” and suggested the Ukrainian leader shared some of the blame for the war’s outbreak. “He shouldn’t have allowed this war to happen.”
Source: The Guardian
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