Putin Dismisses Claims of Russia's Plan to Attack Europe, Calls It "Nonsense"

On the 19th, Russian President Putin held an annual "Year-End Review" event at the Merchant Stack Exhibition Center near Red Square in Moscow, summarizing important domestic affairs and major international issues for 2025. The event combined on-site Q&A sessions and live broadcasts to answer questions from journalists and Russian citizens. The Global Times reporter in the venue noted that about 700 journalists attended, including those from Western countries. Putin responded to some "unfriendly" questions with a "rebuttal." The large screen in the hall continuously played over 2 million questions collected from across Russia. The New York Times stated that the "Year-End Review" sets the tone for the Kremlin's policy priorities for the new year and conveys Russia's core concerns. This year, the outside world particularly focused on Putin's statements on the Ukraine conflict and peace negotiations.

Called the "Marathon Year-End Summary" by Foreign Media

"We are willing and have already prepared to end the conflict peacefully and eliminate the root causes of this crisis," said Putin in the opening session of the event, which was called the "Marathon Year-End Summary" by foreign media. Putin stated that although Ukraine had sent out "specific signals of willingness to dialogue," it still refused to end the conflict through peaceful means and "refused to discuss territorial issues."

Russian newspaper "Zvezda" reported on the 19th that a journalist in the venue saw a map displayed behind Putin, which included Crimea as well as four eastern Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye. British "Sky News" analyzed that this was Moscow emphasizing its position, indicating that it would not make concessions to Ukraine.

However, when answering a question from an American journalist, Putin stated that during the summit with U.S. President Trump in Alaska in August, the U.S. had asked Russia to compromise on the Ukraine issue, and Russia "basically agreed" to the U.S. proposal. He stated that he believed Trump was making "serious and sincere" efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.

RIA Novosti reported that Putin also detailed his assessment of the situation on the front lines of the Ukraine war, stating that the Russian army was "advancing on all fronts" and that the Ukrainian army was "retreating step by step." He expressed confidence that the Russian army would achieve new victories on the front lines by the end of the year.

In response to Zelenskyy's denial that the town of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region had been captured by Russian forces and the video he filmed of his so-called inspection, Putin replied that Zelenskyy "is an artist and very talented," but if the town were truly under Ukrainian control, why did he "only stay at the city gate?"

"Russia-China Relations Are a Key Factor in Global Stability"

Responding to a question from a Chinese journalist, Putin stated that Russia-China relations are continuously developing and are a key factor in global stability. Putin said that Russia and China have carried out a series of practical cooperation in various fields, with trade reaching a level of $240 billion to $250 billion. Cooperation between Russia and China has also developed in high-tech manufacturing, science and education, people-to-people exchanges, and space exploration, which precisely reflects the high level of mutual trust between the two countries. Putin said that Russia is willing to continue developing relations with its Chinese friends in the future.

Regarding the claims by the West that "Russia plans to attack Europe," Putin dismissed them as "nonsense," saying that they aim to divert European public attention from domestic issues. Putin specifically criticized NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, pointing out that the recent U.S. "National Security Strategy" report did not list Russia as a direct adversary. Putin questioned, "If the core member states of NATO do not consider us as enemies, how can NATO prepare for warfare against Russia?"

Puvin Answered Over 80 Questions

Economic and livelihood issues were also key topics of the "Year-End Review." Speaking about the Russian economy, Putin said that the growth rate of Russia's GDP this year was 1%, and inflation issues are being resolved, with the annual inflation rate expected to be below 6%. Putin stated that if calculated over the past three years, the overall growth rate of Russia's GDP reached 9.7%, and this year's economic growth slowed down due to the "active decision" made by the government and central bank to prevent high inflation.

Puvin added that the growth of labor productivity this year was relatively moderate, the unemployment rate further dropped to 2.2%, and the annual growth rate of real wages was 4.5%. Russia's budget deficit rate this year was 2.6%, and it is expected to drop further to 1.6% by 2026.

Puvin also emphasized the issue of birth rates, urging that having children "becomes a trend." Some media noticed that a Russian journalist in the live broadcast successfully proposed marriage to his girlfriend during the Q&A session. RIA Novosti stated that the entire event lasted 4 hours and 27 minutes, and Puvin answered more than 80 questions covering areas such as the Ukraine conflict, relations with the West, healthcare, and livelihood issues. (Global Times Correspondent Sui Xin, Special Correspondent Liu Yupeng)

Original: toutiao.com/article/1851992612410380/

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