The Russian president today praised the US president-elect as an experienced and intelligent politician, able to find solutions amid escalating tensions between Moscow and the West, while questioning whether he is safe after the attempts on his life.
“As for the newly elected (US) president, he is ultimately an intelligent man, who already has a lot of experience. I think he will find a solution,” Putin said during a press conference on the sidelines of his visit to .
He also said he was shocked by the way Trump’s family and children had been criticized by political opponents during the US election campaign.
Putin spoke in Astana, Kazakhstan, after a summit with leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a security alliance of former Soviet countries.
Russia will use all its weapons if Kiev gets nukes
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will prevent any attempt to acquire nuclear weapons and will use all weapons at its disposal against Ukraine if such a scenario unfolds.
The New York Times had reported last week that some unidentified Western officials suggested that US President Joe Biden give Ukraine nuclear weapons before he leaves office.
Putin has stated that it is practically impossible for Ukraine to produce a nuclear weapon, but that it may be able to build some kind of “dirty bomb”.
The conditions for starting talks with Ukraine remain unchanged
The Russian president also said there are no conditions for the start of talks with Ukraine on a possible peace deal, but the conditions he set in June for a deal remain unchanged.
He had said in June that Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kiev agreed to abandon its NATO ambitions and hand over all four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands that Kiev quickly dismissed as tantamount to surrender.
He criticized Germany for using illegal measures in relation to the treatment of Rosneft’s assets
The Russian president also said Germany has used “illegal measures” and “unacceptable” methods in handling assets belonging to Russia’s biggest oil producer Rosneft, Interfax news agency reported.
The future of Rosneft’s German assets, which include a 54.17% stake in the PCK Schwedt refinery, is unclear after Berlin effectively took control of them.
Reassuring about the recent devaluation of the ruble
Referring to the devaluation of the ruble in recent days, the Russian president said there was no reason to panic, saying the sometimes sharp fluctuations in the Russian currency were related to budget payments and seasonal changes.
The ruble started to recover today after falling more than 7% against the US dollar to hit 115 per dollar in the previous session, after the central bank said it would stop buying foreign currency to stabilize financial markets.
Economic issues facing Russia, which is one of Kazakhstan’s largest trading partners, are often transferred to other countries. Kazakhstan’s tenge fell to a record low against the dollar today after the Russian ruble weakened sharply.
The Ukrainian flag on a giant screen
Kazakh police are investigating how the Ukrainian flag was briefly displayed on a large LED screen in the capital Astana during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit there, Kazakhstan’s interior ministry said today.
Ukraine’s flag, with horizontal stripes of blue and yellow, appeared briefly late yesterday, Wednesday, instead of the Russian tricolor flag of white blue and red, on a screen located on one of Astana’s main thoroughfares.
Putin was already in town at the time and the display was soon taken down, but images and videos of the Ukrainian flag on the screen quickly circulated online.
Kazahstan – During Putin’s visit today to Astana, hackers hacked a LED screen and “repainted” the Russian tricolor in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
— AlexandruC4 (@AlexandruC4)
The Ministry of the Interior says in a statement that it is examining all possible versions, including a technical malfunction and an attack by hackers.
According to an opinion poll conducted last year, the majority of Kazakhs take a neutral stance on the Russian-Ukrainian war, but among the rest, supporters of Ukraine significantly outnumber supporters of Russia.
RES/EMP
