Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual end of the year press conference in Moscow on Thursday. During the four-hour-long event, Putin answered various questions, ranging from Russia’s COVID-19 recovery, his government’s crackdown on civil society, and the conflict with Ukraine. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Kremlin hand-picked 500 local, national, and international journalists, leaving out prominent independent outlets, such as Novaya Gazeta, that have been critical of Putin’s regime.
Ukraine Conflict
Several questions were dedicated to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, for which Putin blamed Kyiv and its Western allies for escalating tensions. He also reiterated the security demands made last week to the United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to stop the Western alliance’s eastern expansion and cease military activity near the Russian border. Putin said: “They (NATO) just deceived us blatantly. Five waves of NATO expansion. And there you go–they’re now in Romania and Poland, with weapons systems.” He also attacked the US’ missile deployment in the region, saying, “What would the Americans say if we stationed our missiles on the border between Canada and the US.”
Responding to a reporter’s question on whether Russia will give an “unconditional guarantee” that it will not invade Ukraine, Putin demanded that it is the West that should give Moscow guarantees, and said it must be done “immediately, right now, instead of talking about it for decades...”
Furthermore, Putin noted that the early response from the US and its European allies to his security proposals amid tensions with Ukraine has been “positive” and added that “the ball is in their court.” On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that his country would hold talks with the US and NATO in the new year to discuss Putin’s “legally binding” security demands amid the military build-up at the Ukrainian border. Putin also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this week to discuss the possibility of holding a new Normandy Format summit to address the conflict with Ukraine.
In recent months, the US and its European allies have raised concerns over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine in the early parts of next year. US intelligence reports have indicated the presence of 175,000 Russian troops at the border with Ukraine, drawing parallels to Russia’s invasion of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
COVID-19
The Russian President said it is “simply terrible” that his country’s COVID-19 death numbers are among the highest in the world. He pointed out that Russia’s vaccination rate of 59.4% is not enough to achieve herd immunity, which is why the death toll is so high. Putin expressed hope that Russia could vaccinate enough people to reach herd immunity next year and urged more Russians to get inoculated. He also reiterated his stance against a vaccine mandate, saying people hesitant about the vaccine should be “explained” the issue.
Crackdown on civil society
Putin was questioned about his government’s crackdown on civil society, particularly the disbanding of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation over ‘extremism’ charges. Putin dismissed this remark and urged Western countries to “turn the page” over Navalny’s poisoning, arguing that they had failed to provide proof. “We sent numerous official inquiries from the Russian prosecutor’s office asking for any documents proving the poisoning. There is not a single paper,” he told reporters.