Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated the annual marathon press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who remains unrepentant, even saying Russia should have invaded Ukraine sooner.

The Russian president also said he saw in hindsight that there should have been “systematic preparation” for the 2022 invasion, which he described as a “special military operation”.

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and pro-Russian forces started the conflict in eastern Ukraine, only to culminate eight years later when Putin invaded the country and tried to seize Kiev.

During his four-hour appearance, Putin also spoke about Syria’s ousted leader, Russia’s revamped nuclear doctrine and domestic issues such as the price of butter.

The event, which was broadcast live on the main state television channels on Thursday, was called “Conclusions of the Year with Vladimir Putin.”

Putin appeared in front of a large blue screen with a map of the Russian Federation, depicting the annexed parts of Ukraine. During the interview, he took questions from members of the public, foreign journalists and pensioners – but it was a highly coordinated and tightly controlled process.

When asked by the BBC reporter about Russia and whether he thought the country was better off since his predecessor Boris Yeltsin left power 25 years ago, Putin said the country had regained “sovereignty”. her.

“With everything that was going on in Russia before that, we were headed for a complete, total loss of our sovereignty.”

Russia’s position after the fall of Assad

Asked about the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Putin insisted it was not a defeat for the Kremlin – which has backed President Bashar al-Assad militarily for years – but admitted the situation was “complicated”.

The Russian president revealed he had not yet spoken to the ousted Syrian leader, who fled to Moscow, but said he planned to do so soon.

He added that Russia was in talks with Syria’s new leaders to maintain two strategically important military bases on the Mediterranean coast and that Moscow would consider using them for humanitarian purposes.

“I would meet Trump”

Regarding US President-elect Donald Trump, Putin said the two leaders have not spoken for four years, but said he was ready to meet him “if he wants”.

When pointed out that he was in a weak position compared to Trump, who is due to take office in January, Putin quoted American author Mark Twain: “The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated,” prompting plenty of laughter in the conference room.

Relations with China are at a historic point

On the China issue, Putin said Russia’s relations with its eastern neighbor have reached an all-time high and the two countries are coordinating their actions on the world stage.

“Over the past decade, the level and quality of our relationship has reached its highest point,” he said.

“Open to compromise”

Much of the interview focused on the war in Ukraine, with Putin saying he is “open to compromises” to end the war — though it’s unclear what those compromises entail.

Russian forces are making progress on the front lines “every day”, he said, calling his troops “heroes”.

At one point, he produced a signed flag that he said was given to him by Russian marines who “fought for the motherland” in the Kursk region and invited two observers to hold it behind him for the cameras.

He also spoke about Russia’s construction projects in areas it has seized from Ukraine, claiming that roads in the Ukrainian region of Luhansk had improved significantly since it was seized by Russian-backed forces in 2014.

The nuclear doctrine

Asked by an audience member if the West had “got the message” about Russia’s change in nuclear doctrine, he said “you’d have to ask them”.

The new nuclear doctrine allows Russia to launch a nuclear attack on any country if it is backed by a nuclear power.

This means that if Ukraine launched a major attack on Russia with conventional missiles, drones or aircraft, it could qualify for a nuclear response.

Putin also highlighted the capabilities of Russia’s new medium-range ballistic missile, the Oresnik, which was used in an attack on Ukraine in November.

In fact, he urged Ukrainian air defenses to try to shoot him down, using US-supplied systems, in an attempt to demonstrate the weapon’s superiority.

A dominant theme throughout the event was “Russian sovereignty”, with Putin claiming that less reliance on international partners – partly a result of Western sanctions – was one of the key achievements of his invasion of Ukraine.

He said the economy was “stable”, pointing out that Russia had higher growth than countries such as Germany, but admitted that inflation of 9.1% was “worrying”.

In fact, the economy is heavily dependent on military production.

Throughout the speech, Putin also answered questions about domestic issues – from phone scams to scammers to the struggle of young people to get a mortgage.