Bombay Durpun - Putin ready to meet Trump to talk Ukraine deal

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

Holding his annual end-of-year press conference, the 72-year-old Kremlin leader said his troops held the upper hand across the battlefield and he only regretted not starting the offensive earlier.

But he 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 are largely a televised show while also being a rare setting in which Putin is put on the spot with some uncomfortable questions.

Putin spoke for just under four and a half hours.

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".

- Kursk offensive -

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

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.

"We will absolutely kick them out. Absolutely. It can't be any other way. But the question of a specific date, I'm sorry, I cannot say right now," he admitted.

Putin was also pressed on economic headwinds facing Russia -- the fallout from a huge ramp-up in military spending and deep labour 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 not of "key significance" -- and said he hoped the central bank, expected to raise interest rates again Friday to cool inflation, would take a "balanced" decision.

- Oreshnik 'duel' -

Putin appeared to repeat his threat to strike Kyiv 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 defences.

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

The 72-year-old condemned the killing of a senior Russian army general in Moscow this week in a bomb attack claimed by Kyiv as "terrorism."

Igor Kirillov was the most senior Russian figure to be killed in an assassination claimed by Kyiv. Russia has arrested the suspected perpetrator.

"Our special services are missing these hits," the former KGB agent said in rare criticism of security services, listing other recent killings.

"We must not allow such very serious blunders to happen."

Asked if he would do anything differently if he could go back to February 2022, when he launched the Ukraine offensive, Putin said he only regretted doing it earlier.

"Knowing what is happening now, I would think that such a decision... should have been taken earlier," he said.

And Russia "should have started preparing for these events, including the special military operation", he said, using Moscow's official term for the conflict.

- Assad's fall not a 'defeat' -

"You want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia. I assure you it is not," Putin said.

"We came to Syria 10 years ago so that a terrorist enclave would not be created there like in Afghanistan. On the whole, we have achieved our goal," Putin said.

Putin said he has not yet met Assad, who fled to Moscow as rebels closed in on Damascus, but plans to soon.

The Kremlin chief said Israel was the "main beneficiary" of events in Syria and called for it to withdraw troops from the "territory of Syria".

A.Krishnamurthy--BD