President Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine more than eight months ago, on February 24, 2022 [Mikhail Metzel/Pool via Reuters]

• Vladimir Putin accuses the West of “fuelling the war in Ukraine” during his annual address to a Moscow-based think-tank.
• The Russian leader also commented on NATO, the US dollar as a “weapon” and “traditional values” in the combative anti-West speech in Moscow.

Putin’s remarks show no change in Russian leader’s strategy: White House

The White House said Putin’s remarks were not very new and did not indicate a change in his strategic goals, including in Ukraine.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre reacted to Putin’s remarks during a press briefing held aboard Air Force One.

Putin says US needs to force Kyiv to negotiating table

Zelensky, Ukranian President

Putin said that Moscow was ready for talks to end the conflict in Ukraine, but said Kyiv was not prepared to sit down at the negotiating table.

“It’s not a question about us, we are ready for negotiations. But the leaders in Kyiv decided not to continue negotiations with Russia,” Putin told the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow.

“It is very easy to solve this problem if Washington gives a signal to Kyiv to change its position and solve the problem peacefully,” he added.

There have been no peace talks between the two since attempts at a negotiated settlement fell apart in the first weeks of the conflict, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has explicitly ruled out a negotiated deal with Putin.

Putin tells people in the West: Russia is not your enemy

Putin said that ordinary citizens of Western countries should fight for pay rises and should not believe that Russia was their enemy.

“Fight for higher wages,” Putin said when asked what he would tell an ordinary citizen of a Western country. “And don’t believe that Russia is your enemy.”

Russia, Putin said, was not an enemy of the West and has never had any “malicious” intentions towards Europe or the United States. But Western leaders, he said, had made grave mistakes that had led to economic and energy crises.

Putin says Russia ready to strike new energy partnerships with Asia

Putin said that Russia will let its partners in Asia help develop the country’s vast energy resources as Moscow turns its economy towards the east.

Many Western investors have walked away from their Russian investments after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine and the imposition of sweeping Western sanctions.

Putin says Saudi Arabia’s crown prince deserves respect

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman deserved respect and that Russia was set on boosting relations with Saudi Arabia.

The United States has criticised Prince Mohammed and the OPEC+ oil alliance for agreeing to cut oil production, a move seen as a boost to Russia’s attempts to protect its economy in the face of Western sanctions.

Putin criticises France for publishing contents of call with Macron

Putin has criticised France for publishing contents of a phone call he had with President Emmanuel Macron days before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February.

Putin said the release showed that his conversations with the French leader were being listened in on.

Putin says Western claims Russia behind Nord Stream explosions are ‘crazy’

In a speech, Putin called Western claims that Russia was behind explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines “crazy”.

Danish police have said powerful explosions caused ruptures to the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 undersea pipelines, potentially putting them permanently out of use. Putin previously said the West blew up the pipelines, while European leaders have accused Russia of sabotage.

Putin says China’s Xi is ‘close friend’, hails ‘unprecedented’ partnership

Putin said that Russia’s relations with China were at an “unprecedented level” as he called China’s President Xi Jinping a “close friend”.

Moscow and Beijing signed a no-limits partnership just days before Russia launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine in February, and Russia has sought to forge closer political and economic ties with China in the face of Western sanctions over the war.

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IMF chief says 2023 aid pledges for Ukraine ‘sufficient’

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said financial pledges for Ukraine by the United States and Europe should be sufficient to get Kyiv through 2023, assuming the war does not intensify.

“Yes, we would go to 2023 with sufficient financial support for Ukraine,” Georgieva told AFP news agency on the sidelines of a conference organised by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm.

“So when we look into next year, the numbers are significant, but they are not out of context of what has been done up to now,” she added, underlining that the outlook remains highly uncertain.

White House says it wants to see Black Sea grain deal renewed

Biden, American President

The United States strongly supports the efforts of the United Nations to ensure the Black Sea grain deal is renewed, White House spokesperson John Kirby said, saying that would help bring food prices down.

Speaking to reporters in a call, Kirby said any talk by Russia on disrupting the deal was “essentially another method of weaponising a commodity”.

In call, Russia’s Lavrov thanks Chinese counterpart for support on Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by telephone with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

In the statement, the ministry said that Lavrov thanked Wang for what it called China’s support for Russia’s position on a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine.

Putin says Russia’s nuclear doctrine is defensive

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s military doctrine only permitted the country to use nuclear weapons in defence, rejecting claims that Russia was considering using them in Ukraine.

Putin also said Russia was ready to restart talks with the United States on nuclear arms control, but had no response from Washington on Moscow’s proposals for talks on “strategic stability”.

Putin hails Turkey’s Erdogan as ‘strong leader’

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a “strong leader” who always defended Turkey’s interests.

Putin said President Erdogan was not always an “easy partner” to deal with, but that Turkey was always “reliable” and had a desire to reach agreements.

Erdogan has played a vital role as a go-between for Kyiv and Moscow since the start of the conflict, brokering the Black Sea grain deal and assisting in a number of prisoner exchangers – the only major diplomatic breakthroughs to date in the eight-month conflict.

Biden has ‘no intention to sit down’ with Putin at G20: White House

United States President Joe Biden has “no intention” to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month while attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit, the White House has said.

“He has no intention to sit down with Vladimir Putin and that’s where we are today,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Biden has previously said he has no plans to meet with Putin at the summit being held in Bali, Indonesia. It is not confirmed yet whether Putin will attend.

No indication Russian nuclear drills are ‘cover activity’: Pentagon

The United States has not seen anything to indicate that Russia’s ongoing annual “Grom” exercises of its nuclear forces may be a cover for a real deployment, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said.

“We haven’t seen anything to cause us to believe, at this point, that is some kind of cover activity,” Austin told reporters.

Putin says no need for nationalisation in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has no need to nationalise assets to deal with the economic fallout of sanctions and the conflict in Ukraine.

He also said it was a “gift” to local investors and businesses that swathes of Western companies have left Russia since it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February.

Russia tried to ‘be friends’ with the West, NATO: Putin

Putin has alleged that the West rejected Moscow’s attempts to build good relations with the United States and NATO because it was set on making Russia vulnerable.

Moscow had wanted to “be friends” with the West and NATO, but would not accept attempts by the US, European Union and United Kingdom to hold Russia down, Putin said in his speech to the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow.

He also warned that the coming decade will be the “most dangerous” since the 1940s.

“Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and at the same time important decade since the end of the second World War,” Putin said.

Putin says US uses dollar as a ‘weapon’

Putin has accused Washington of having discredited the international financial system by using the United States dollar as a “weapon”.

Delivering his combative anti-West speech in Moscow, the Russian president said he believed moves by other countries to reduce their reliance on the currency for international trade would accelerate.

Ukraine’s western allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia over its invasion

Russian president calls for respect for ‘traditional values’

Putin has said “traditional values” should be respected, reiterating earlier remarks he has made denouncing what he claims is a decadent West.

The Russian leader said during his annual address to the Valdai Discussion Club that no one can dictate to the Russian people how they should build their society.

Putin accuses West of playing ‘dangerous, bloody and dirty game’ over Ukraine

Putin has accused the West of “fuelling the war in Ukraine” but said the United States and its allies will ultimately have to talk to Russia “about the future”.

“The new centres of the global order and the West will have to begin a conversation about the future – the earlier the better,” the Russian president said during his annual address to the Valdai Discussion Club.

Putin also charged that the West was blinded by colonialism and said it was trying to contain the rest of the world.

“Dominion of the world is precisely what the West has decided to stake in this game. But this game is a dangerous, dirty and bloody one,” he said.

SOURCES: .ALJAZEERA