Russian President Putin's remarks at end-of-year press conference
· The Straits TimesMOSCOW, Dec 19 - Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual end-of-year press conference on Friday.
Below are some of his comments. He spoke in Russian and his words were translated by Reuters.
ON UKRAINE PEACE TALKS
"So far, we don't really see such readiness (form Ukraine for peace talks)... But still we see ... certain signals, including from the Kyiv regime, that they are ready to engage in some kind of dialogue. The only thing I want to say is that we have always said this: we are ready and willing to end this conflict peacefully, based on the principles I outlined ... at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and by addressing the root causes that led to this crisis."
ABOUT THE SITUATION AT THE FRONT
"In general, immediately after our troops drove the enemy from the Kursk region, the initiative, the strategic initiative, passed entirely into the hands of the Russian armed forces. What does this mean? It means that our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact, in some places faster, in others more slowly, but in all directions, the enemy is retreating." REUTERS