Moscow, 14 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin held centre stage at a marathon question-and-answer session on Thursday, taking a firm line on the need to "de-Nazify" Ukraine almost two years into the war, while insisting that Russia's economy is still in robust shape despite Western sanctions.

Neutral status and the demilitarisation of Russia's former Soviet neighbour are conditions for an end to hostilities there, Putin told an audience of around 600 Russian and foreign journalists in Moscow.

"Peace will come when we have achieved our goals," the 71-year-old Kremlin leader stressed at the more than four-hour event.

One stated goal was for Ukraine to renounce its ambitions to join NATO. Observers saw this as an offer to the West to seek concessions from the leadership in Kiev to ensure peace.

Putin also underscored the need for the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine - Moscow's original baseless pretext for invading the country in February 2022.

Thursday's media spectacle, during which citizens were also able to put questions to Putin, has been an annual fixture since he came to power in 2000. However, it was cancelled last year amid broad international opposition to the Russian invasion.

Putin appeared relaxed and self-satisfied despite some critical questions. When the war would end was one of the most frequently asked.

Putin repeatedly emphasized that the West had broken off contact with Russia in the course of the war and was only harming itself. Conversely, Russia had strengthened its own sovereignty despite pressure from the West, he said.

He also said no new partial mobilization was necessary for Russia to maintain its current offensive and that the 300,000 soldiers controversially called up last autumn were "fighting excellently."

The number of volunteers would also reach half a million contract soldiers by the end of the year, with 1,500 being added every day. According to Putin, the total number of Russian soldiers in the war zone is 617,000. He did not say anything about the number of casualties.

At the same time, he said Russia owed a 3.5% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) this year to the war economy and defence production. However, he conceded that inflation, at between 7.5% and 8%, was above the target he had set himself.

Putin was optimistic that price increases would be lower next year, and claimed that real wages had actually risen despite the inflation.

Ahead of the presidential election in March, in which he intends to run for the fifth time, he once again promised to solve the country's problems - be it low pensions, the high price of eggs or the comparatively long prison sentences for citizens who did not commit serious crimes. He spoke out against a ban on abortion.

In response to questions from Western journalists, who have not had access to such events for a long time, Putin was demonstratively friendly - and signalled his willingness to cooperate.

Moscow was prepared, for example, to exchange the US citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, who were imprisoned for espionage, for Russian prisoners. "These agreements must be acceptable to both sides," said Putin.

Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, has been in custody since March. The US government and the newspaper reject the espionage allegations against the 32-year-old. Russia has secured the release of serious criminals in such exchanges several times in the past.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said on Thursday that the Russian government had rejected multiple proposals and had refused to engage in negotiations over Whelan and Gershkovich.

Looking ahead to next year's Paris Olympics, Putin said he supported the participation of Russia's athletes as neutrals, but also raised concerns around their eligibility criteria used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Russia may have to reconsider sending its athletes to France if it appears that criteria are used to deny the best athletes from participating, he said.

The IOC decided last week that athletes from Russia and Belarus can compete in Paris, only in individual events and as neutral athletes, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. So far six Russians and five Belarusians have qualified.

Photo: EPA