In a marathon televised event, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a conditional end to future conflicts, asserting there would be “no more wars after Ukraine” if the West treated Russia “with respect.”
He dismissed as “nonsense” claims that Moscow plans to attack European nations.
“There won’t be any operations if you treat us with respect, if you respect our interests just as we’ve always tried to respect yours,” Putin told the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg during the nearly four-and-a-half-hour “Direct Line” broadcast.
He added a key historical grievance, demanding the West “don’t cheat us like you cheated us with Nato’s eastward expansion.”
The event, held beneath a vast map of Russia that included occupied Ukrainian territories, was Putin’s platform to address domestic and foreign policy. He reiterated his demands for ending the war in Ukraine—Ukraine’s surrender of four regions and abandonment of NATO ambitions—while claiming readiness for a “peaceful” resolution.
However, just hours after the broadcast, a Russian missile strike killed seven people in Ukraine’s Odesa region, underscoring the ongoing violence.
Domestically, Putin faced screened questions reflecting public frustration over rising prices, internet outages, and poor tap water, with one message bluntly stating: “Stop the crazy rise in prices on everything!” As he spoke, Russia’s central bank cut interest rates to 16%, an attempt to stabilize an economy facing inflation and sluggish growth.
The event presented a president positioning Russia as a nation seeking dignified coexistence, yet one whose central promise—an end to war—remained firmly tethered to maximalist conditions and contradicted by daily military actions.
By James Kisoo
