Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a television interview to Pavel Zarubin, commenting on the war in Ukraine.
The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analyzed Putin's words, indicating that Russia will not stop the war if Ukraine does not first capitulate and comply with its conditions.
The Russian leader indicated that he was ready to negotiate “on the Ukraine issue“, but that the Ukrainian presidential decree of 2022, declaring “the impossibility of negotiations“ with Putin, is a significant obstacle to peace talks.
Putin falsely stated that Ukraine and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are not interested in peace talks and that it is impossible for Russia and Ukraine to discuss “anything serious” with the current decree in place. Putin also said that the West should force Zelensky to repeal the 2022 decree. He also again questioned Zelensky's legitimacy as the current president of Ukraine and suggested that US President Donald Trump should negotiate exclusively with Putin about the fate of Ukraine, as the two leaders can “calmly” to discuss their interests.
Putin has previously called on Ukraine to repeal the 2022 decree, but Putin’s intense focus on the decree during his January 24 interview marked another attempt to distract from his unwillingness to engage in peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky signed the decree in September 2022 banning negotiations with Putin, in direct response to Putin’s illegal annexation of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine and after months of negotiations in which Russia continued to demand Ukraine’s complete surrender.
Zelensky outlined clear conditions for potential negotiations with Russia and stressed the importance of preserving Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, developing Ukraine’s defense industrial base, and providing guarantees for security from Ukraine's Western allies.
Meanwhile, Putin continues to signal to both his domestic and global audiences that he is not interested in peace except on his full demands and remains committed to Ukraine's complete surrender. Putin is likely using his interview with Zarubin on Russian state television to signal to Russian society that Russia is unlikely to participate in peace talks in the near future and that the war is unlikely to end anytime soon. Putin is also sending this message to a section of the Russian elites who are said to want the war to end. The president likely intends this interview to silence any questions from the Russian elites about the duration of the war.
The West must demonstrate its continued commitment to aiding and arming Ukraine in order to force Putin to reconsider his theory of victory and his demands. Continued Western military support, which allows Ukraine to resist Russian aggression now and in the future, is the West’s best course of action to bring Putin to the negotiating table and secure Russian concessions that are essential to achieving a peace that is in the interests of America, Europe, and Ukraine, ISW said.
Putin also sought to position himself as Trump’s equal during his interview, reaffirming his long-held belief that Russia is the great power that succeeded the Soviet Union. Putin stressed that Russia shares interests with the United States, particularly in the global economy, and suggested that he and Trump engage in “calm, pragmatic” discussions, suggesting that the two leaders could bypass direct talks with Ukraine.
Putin has shown concern about the effect that lower oil prices would have on his domestic stability and ability to wage war in Ukraine. Falling oil prices would reduce Russia's federal budget revenues and risk destabilizing the stability of the Russian regime, while also reducing Russia's share of the global oil market and economic influence on the world stage.