Putin ready to meet Trump 'anytime' to talk Ukraine deal

MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 19 he was ready for talks "anytime" with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has touted his ability to strike a Ukraine peace deal within hours of coming to office.

Trump, who will return to the White House in January, has stoked fears in Kiev that he could force Ukraine to accept peace on terms favorable to Moscow.

Holding his annual end-of-year press conference, the Kremlin leader said his troops held the upper hand across the battlefield, but was forced to admit he does not know when Russia will take back the western Kursk region where Ukrainian troops launched an incursion in August.

The traditional annual question and answer sessions, often lasting hours, are largely a televised show while also being a rare setting in which he is put on the spot and answers some uncomfortable questions.

Asked about Trump's overtures regarding a possible peace deal, Putin said he would welcome a meeting with the incoming Republican.

"I don't know when I'm going to see him. He isn't saying anything about it. I haven't talked to him in more than four years. I am ready for it, of course. Any time," Putin said.

"If we ever have a meeting with President-elect Trump, I am sure we'll have a lot to talk about," he said, adding that Russia was ready for "negotiations and compromises."

Russia's troops have been advancing in eastern Ukraine for months, with Putin repeatedly touting their prowess on the battlefield.

"We are moving towards resolving the primary aims that we set at the start of the special military operation," Putin said, using Russia's term for the conflict.

"Our guys are fighting heroically. The capabilities of the armed forces are growing."

But asked by a woman from the Kursk region when residents will be able to return to their homes there, after thousands were evacuated from frontline areas amid the Ukrainian assault, Putin said he could not name a date.

Putin, 72, was also pressed on economic headwinds facing Russia, the fallout from a huge ramp up in military spending and deep labor shortages caused by the conflict.

He insisted that the situation is "stable, despite external threats," citing low unemployment and industrial growth.

Asked about soaring inflation, Putin said that "inflation is a worrying signal" and that price rises for foods such as butter and meat are "unpleasant."

He acknowledged that Western sanctions were also a factor, "while they do not have key significance," and ccriticized the central bank saying it should have taken measures beyond raising rates to lower inflation.

Putin appeared to repeat his threat to strike Kiev with Russia's new hypersonic ballistic missile, dubbed Oreshnik.

Asked by a military journalist if the weapon had any flaws, Putin suggested a "hi-tech duel" between the West and Russia to test his claims that it is impervious to air defenses.

"Let them set some target to be hit, let's say in Kiev. They will concentrate there all their air defenses. And we will launch an Oreshnik strike there and see what happens," Putin proposed.

Putin also called the killing of a senior Russian army general in a brazen assassination in Moscow two days earlier "terrorism," in his first comments on the attack.