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Vladimir Putin says ‘negotiations and compromise’ will be needed to end Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is ready to speak to incoming US president Donald Trump. (Reuters: Maxim Shemetov)

In short:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held an annual question-and-answer session with reporters.

He says he is ready for "negotiations and compromises", but has warned that Ukraine's resolve to fight Russian forces "will run out" in coming months.

What's next?

Incoming US president Donald Trump has long said he hopes to end the war in Ukraine swiftly, and Mr Putin says Russia is moving towards "solving our primary tasks" in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says all parties involved in the Ukraine War will need to be ready "for both negotiations and compromises", as he prepares for possible talks with incoming US president Donald Trump.

Mr Trump, who has long touted his ability in "the art of the deal", has repeatedly said he wants to end the war in Ukraine that has been raging since February 2022.

Mr Putin on Thursday held an annual question and answer session on state TV and told a US reporter he was ready to meet with Mr Trump.

Russia wants Ukraine's 'bargaining chip' before Trump returns to the White House

Photo shows A man on a bike rides through the street with ruins of buildings behind him

Vladimir Putin says 'negotiations and compromise' will be needed to end Ukraine war

Some 50,000 Russian troops have reportedly moved to a region held by Ukraine since August, with experts saying it is no coincidence.

The Russian president said he had not spoken to the former US president in years.

Asked what he might be able to offer Mr Trump, Mr Putin argued Russia was not in a weak negotiating position and had gotten much stronger since he ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.

"We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises," he said.

"We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises."

Mr Putin said Russia had no conditions to start talks with Ukraine and was ready to negotiate with anyone, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Vladimir Putin says 'negotiations and compromise' will be needed to end Ukraine war

Donald Trump says he can bring an end to fighting in Ukraine. (Reuters: Marcos Brindicci)

But he also warned Ukrainian fatigue would continue to worsen if the conflict dragged out.

"Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight." 

Mr Putin said Russia needed a lasting peace, rather than a temporary ceasefire, warning it would allow "the enemy to strengthen its troops".

Zelenskyy questions Putin's sanity

During his press conference, Mr Putin touted what he said was the invincibility of the "Oreshnik" hypersonic missile that Russia has already test-fired at a Ukrainian military factory.

He said he was ready to organise another launch at Ukraine to test if Western air defence systems could shoot it down.

Mr Zelenskyy, who was simultaneously addressing a European council meeting, seized on the remarks, asking "Do you think he is a sane person?"

He called on European allies to "push Moscow towards genuine, sustainable, guaranteed peace".

Vladimir Putin says 'negotiations and compromise' will be needed to end Ukraine war

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he wants allies to coordinate and bring about a lasting peace. (Reuters: Sarah Meyssonnier)

On the same day both leaders were speaking, three people were killed and 10 houses damaged in Ukraine's Kharkiv region from a Russian missile attack.

On Wednesday, Russia's defence ministry claimed Ukraine launched six US-made ATACM missiles and four British-made Storm Shadow missiles at the Russian region of Rostov.

The ministry said all but one of the missiles were downed and vowed to respond to the attacks.

Vladimir Putin says 'negotiations and compromise' will be needed to end Ukraine war

Kyiv has been frequently attacked by Russian drones in recent weeks. (Reuters; Gleb Garanich)

It came as other European nations continued to warn about the dangers of Mr Putin's Russia.

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said on Thursday Russia would remain a threat even if the Ukraine war ended.

"Russia, together with its allies, will remain a dangerous actor in Europe even after the war in Ukraine and we cannot exclude the possibility of (them) threatening European countries with the use of military force," he said.

Finland shares a 1,300 kilometre border with Russia and last year joined NATO in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin downplays impact of Assad's downfall on Russia

During his marathon press conference, Mr Putin responded to a number of questions, including on the economy.

Why did Russia let Syria fall? Experts say it was a calculated risk

Photo shows President Bashar al-Assad and President Vladimir Putin shaking hands inside a Kremlin meeting room.

Vladimir Putin says 'negotiations and compromise' will be needed to end Ukraine war

Vladimir Putin has lost his key anchor of influence in the Middle East with the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, but he seemingly knew it was coming and was chatting with new players in the region ahead of his downfall.

He said consumers were experiencing "alarming" inflation that demonstrated the economy was overheating.

Mr Putin also reflected on how the war in Ukraine had changed him over the past three years, remarking that he "began to joke less, and almost stopped laughing".

The recent ouster of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow, has been widely seen in the West as a geo-strategic loss for Mr Putin.

In the press event, Mr Putin said the "main beneficiary" of the Syrian crisis had been Israel.

But he downplayed the impact Mr Assad's downfall had had on Russia.

"You want to portray everything that is happening in Syria as some kind of failure, a defeat for Russia. I assure you, it is not."

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