President Putin: It took the West a year to 'abandon' Zelensky
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the West had done its job and would soon “abandon” Zelensky. And the process would take a year.
On the first day of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with heads of the world's leading news agencies and media agencies.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that foreign journalists present, including those from countries unfriendly to Russia, had the opportunity to speak “directly, openly, without restrictions” with President Putin.
Some news agencies such as: Agence France-Presse (AFP), Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Xinhua News Agency (China), head of DPA (Germany), ANSA (Italy), EFE (Spain), IRNA (Iran), Kyodo News (Japan), Anadolu (Türkiye), Azertaj (Azerbaijan), BELTA (Belarus), Yonhap (South Korea), Kazinform (Kazakhstan), UzA (Uzbekistan)….
Regarding the supply of long-range weapons to the Ukrainian regime, President Putin called it “a very serious and very dangerous step”. Attacks on Russian territory would completely destroy relations between Moscow and Berlin. The president reiterated the strong dependence of German politics on the United States. According to him, the Americans are acting skillfully, considering their mission, but the German leadership should pay more attention to the needs of the German people.
Answering the question of why Russia does not make public data on its losses in Ukraine, President Putin noted that such information is usually not disclosed during conflicts. But he assured that the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were many times greater. And he cited the figures on prisoners of war: Ukrainians - 6,465, Russians - 1,348.
President Putin added that the irreparable losses of the parties are approximately equal. And this leads to the fact that Kiev cannot even solve the personnel problem by mobilizing all its forces. And measures such as lowering the military age were introduced by Washington.
“Now this is done. They will simply abandon Zelensky. It will take about a year for this,” Putin said, adding that the White House already has a replacement candidate.
According to President Putin, Mr. Zelensky is considered illegal in Moscow. The president considers expanding his power without elections a crime under the article on usurpation of power.
However, this does not rule out the possibility that Russia will find someone to sign a peace treaty with Ukraine, if that scenario occurs. President Putin said that it all depends on Kiev.
Responding to a Reuters question about relations with the United States and how they might change after the November election, President Putin reiterated: Russia is not betting on any candidate.
“What is happening in the United States, in the course of internal political struggles, is burning themselves from within – the state, the political system. Whether it is pleasant or not, they are burning their leadership, their imaginary leadership in the field of democracy,” Putin added.
“We will work with our beloved president, who will be elected by the American people,” President Putin stressed.
The Russian leader said that no one in the US cares about Ukraine and they care about the greatness of America.
A representative of the German DPA asked whether President Putin threatened Chancellor Olaf Scholz over Berlin's arms supplies to Kiev.
“This is bad manners,” President Putin replied.
“Russia is not acting in a threatening manner. We have to arrange a historical excursion, recalling the important milestones of the Ukrainian conflict, which has been promoted for many years by both the United States and Europe, the UN Charter and many other things that have been said many times before,” President Putin said.
Responding to questions from French media about Russia's "imperial ambitions," President Putin dismissed both speculation about "imperialism" and frequent accusations that Russia is allegedly planning to attack NATO.
