MOSCOW, Dec 20 — Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday he was ready for talks with US President-elect Donald Trump at “any time” while regretting that he did not launch Moscow's full-scale offensive earlier.

Trump, who will return to the White House in January, has called for negotiations to begin, stoking fears in Kyiv that he could force Ukraine to accept peace on terms favourable to Moscow.

At his annual end-of-year news conference, the 72-year-old said his troops held the upper hand across the battlefield.

He spoke as Kyiv said Russian attacks on northeastern Ukraine had killed three people and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with EU leaders in Brussels.

Putin spoke in a confident tone but was forced to admit he did not know when Russia would take back the parts of Russia’s Kursk region held by Kyiv since August.

The traditional annual question-and-answer sessions are largely a televised show while also being a rare setting in which Putin is put on the spot with some uncomfortable questions.

Putin spoke for just under four and a half hours.

Asked about Trump’s overtures regarding a possible peace deal, Putin said he would welcome a meeting with the incoming Republican.

“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.

“If we ever have a meeting with President-elect Trump, I am sure we’ll have a lot to talk about,” he said, adding that Russia was ready for “negotiations and compromises”.

Kursk offensive

Russia’s troops have been advancing in eastern Ukraine for months, with Putin repeatedly touting their prowess on the battlefield.

But asked by a woman from the Kursk region when residents would be able to return to their homes there, after thousands were evacuated from frontline areas during the Ukrainian assault, Putin said he could not name a date.

“We will absolutely kick them out. Absolutely. It can’t be any other way. But the question of a specific date, I’m sorry, I cannot say right now,” he said.

Putin was also pressed on the economic headwinds Russia faced — the fallout from a huge ramp-up in military spending and deep labour shortages caused by the conflict.

He insisted that the situation was “stable, despite external threats”, citing low unemployment and industrial growth.

Asked about soaring inflation, Putin said that “inflation is a worrying signal”. Price rises for foods such as butter and meat were “unpleasant”, he conceded.

He acknowledged, too, that Western sanctions were a factor — while not of “key significance”. He hoped the central bank, expected to raise interest rates again today to cool inflation, would take a “balanced” decision, he added.

Oreshnik ‘duel’

Putin appeared to repeat his threat to strike Kyiv with Russia’s new hypersonic ballistic missile, dubbed Oreshnik.

Asked by a military journalist if the weapon had any flaws, Putin suggested a “hi-tech duel” between the West and Russia to test his claims that it is impervious to air defences.

“Let them set some target to be hit, let’s say in Kyiv,” he said.

“They will concentrate there all their air defences. And we will launch an Oreshnik strike there and see what happens.”

Zelensky hit back by saying: “People are dying and he thinks it’s ‘interesting’.. Dumbass.”

Putin condemned as “terrorism” the killing in Moscow of a senior Russian army general, claimed by Kyiv.

The former KGB agent also made a rare criticism of the security services.

“Our special services are missing these hits,” he said, listing other recent killings.

“We must not allow such very serious blunders to happen.”

‘Should have started preparing’

Asked if he would do anything differently if he could go back to February 2022, when he launched the Ukraine offensive, Putin said he only regretted not having done it sooner.

“Knowing what is happening now, I would think that such a decision... should have been taken earlier,” he said.

And Russia “should have started preparing for these events, including the special military operation”, he said, using Moscow’s official term for the conflict.

In his first public comments since the fall of ex-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Putin rejected claims his toppling was a “defeat” for Russia.

“You want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia. I assure you it is not,” Putin said.

“We came to Syria 10 years ago so that a terrorist enclave would not be created there like in Afghanistan. On the whole, we have achieved our goal,” Putin said.

Putin said he had not yet met Assad, who fled to Moscow as rebels closed in on Damascus, but planned to soon. — AFP