Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has not yet met exiled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, even though he personally made the decision to grant asylum to the dictator and his family when Syria's long-time dictator fled the country following the fall of his regime.
He made the remark during his annual press conference and question-and-answer session, during which he fielded questions from both journalists in the audience and Russian citizens who submitted their queries in advance.
Topics ranged from Syria, Ukraine, Russia's economy and Putin's relationship with US President-elect Donald Trump – all part of a carefully choreographed spectacle that lasted over four hours.
Putin, who said he had not spoken to Trump in four years, said he was open to meeting the new US president, who has repeatedly promised to end the war in Ukraine soon after taking office on January 20.
Although many of the audience's questions came from journalists associated with Russian state media, NBC correspondent Keir Simmons asked Putin whether he was ready to compromise on Ukraine – a question the Russian president did not fully answer.
“We are ready,” Putin said, without giving any details. “We just need the other side to be ready too. To negotiate and compromise.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly said that it will not negotiate with Ukraine unless it renounces its ambition to join NATO and withdraws soldiers from territories currently controlled by Russian troops.
Kursk
Putin was also asked about Russia's fight to regain several hundred square kilometers of the Kursk Oblast, which Ukraine still controls after a lightning offensive in western Russia in August.
He said Russian troops were fighting to retake Kursk, but there was no clear date when they would “liberate” it.
“The situation (on the front) is changing dramatically. There is movement on the entire front line every day,” he said.
He noted that the campaign in Ukraine should have started before February 2022, stating that Russia should have “systematically prepared for it.”
While he went on to praise the heroic efforts of Russian soldiers, there was no mention of the thousands of North Korean troops that Ukraine and the U.S. say are fighting alongside the Russians.
According to a South Korean legislator, who on Thursday cited information provided by the country's spy agency, at least 100 of them were killed.
Russian state media reported that ahead of Putin's news conference, two million Russian citizens asked questions on topics ranging from the cost of living and mortgage rates to what Russia still calls a “special military operation.”
Economy
The first question was about Economy of Russiagiven the increasing rate of inflation resulting from the country's allocation of money to the war effort. There have been concerns across the country about rising food and grocery prices.
Putin acknowledged that an inflation rate of more than 9 percent is a “worrying” number, but said government measures to cool the economy are working. Economic growth is expected to be around four percent this year and slow in 2025.
“I think (the growth rate) next year should be around 2-2.5 percent, which will be a kind of soft landing to maintain macroeconomic indicators,” he said.
Syria
Putin was asked about Russia's presence in Syria, where it has two main military bases, the Hmeimim air base and a naval base in the port of Tartous.
Satellite photos indicate that Russia is in the process of transferring some military equipment, but Putin said that Russia has proposed to its “partners” to use the air base for humanitarian purposes.
The future of the air base, which has been used to launch attacks across Syria in support of Assad, is now in doubt given that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group has taken control of Damascus, forcing Assad's government out. He supported Russia for years.
“All in all, we have achieved our goal,” Putin said, talking about the bases. “We maintain relationships with all the groups that control the situation there,
He also condemned Israel's seizure of territory in the country and expressed his belief that Israel had no intention of withdrawing its troops from Syria.
American journalist Austin Tice
During the press conference, Simmons asked Putin whether he would talk to Assad about the disappearance of American journalist Austin Tice, who was taken prisoner during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012.
Putin replied that Tice was someone who disappeared 12 years ago during the civil war, but then said that when they talked, he would ask Assad about the American.
Tice, a former U.S. Marine, was one of the first American journalists to enter Syria after the war began.
US President Joe Biden stated earlier this month that the government believed Tice was still alive. There was hope that Tice would be among the thousands of people released from Damascus prisons.
