Putin: Russia Will Bolster Air Defenses06/05 06:23

   

   ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -- President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that 
Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone 
attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over his 
showcase economic forum in his hometown of St. Petersburg.

   Speaking in response to a question from The Associated Press during a 
meeting with heads of international news agencies, Putin acknowledged the 
damage from Ukrainian drone attacks.

   "To our regret, some of them break through," Putin said of the drone 
strikes. "Russia has an air defense system, we need to improve it, strengthen 
it, and we will do that."

   The wide-ranging media session came on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg 
International Economic Forum, his annual showcase for investment. Hours before 
the forum opened Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze an oil terminal 
in the city and also hit a nearby naval base.

   Putin also said Russia is open for a compromise on Ukraine in line with 
understandings reached at his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in 
Anchorage, Alaska, adding that Ukraine needs to accept them to make a deal to 
end the conflict, now in its fifth year.

   Zelenskyy proposes talks

   Also on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed 
face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to Putin. 
Zelenskyy acknowledged shifting U.S. priorities, saying it would be wrong to 
wait for the U.S. to return its attention to Ukraine while it remains heavily 
focused on the Iran war.

   In Washington, Trump said it "would be great" if Putin and Zelenskyy meet.

   Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin hadn't seen the letter yet and 
repeated his statement that Zelenskyy could come to Moscow if he wants talks. 
Putin said last month he doesn't exclude a meeting in a third country, but only 
when there is a deal to sign.

   Putin dismissed the idea that European Union countries could mediate 
Russia-Ukraine peace talks because "mediation assumes neutrality. Where is the 
neutrality here?"

   Any potential third-party mediators needed to be trusted by both sides, 
Putin said.

   "How can Russia trust people who have been harping about the need to inflict 
a strategic defeat on Russia for years?" he said.

   Putin's battlefield update

   Commenting on Russia's use of its Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic 
missile, Putin said it was fired at targets that allowed it to test its 
capability and precision before using it against objectives closer to 
residential areas.

   "We hit the area where it was convenient to see the results," he said. "It 
was important for making a decision on the future on the full-format use of the 
Oreshnik on designated targets, including those in populated areas."

   Putin emphasized his push for control of the entire Donetsk region in 
eastern Ukraine, noting that Ukraine controls about 15% of its territory.

   Putin declared that the "patriotism and will of the Russian people" will 
ensure the achievement of goals that Moscow set in Ukraine.

   "Russian troops are advancing along the entire line of contact," he said.

   Putin said he has accepted Trump's compromise proposals from the Alaska 
summit, saying they could "serve as a basis of agreements between Russia and 
Ukraine and put an end to the conflict."

   Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce, he said.

   "There is no need to suspend the hostilities to start negotiations," he 
said. "Naturally, the Ukrainian side would like us to suspend the advances made 
by Russian troops. But it would be better to end the war by agreeing to the 
compromises that were discussed in Anchorage."

   Putin dismisses sabotage accusations

   Asked about an AP investigation tracking 191 incidents across Europe, 
including sabotage, cyberattacks, attempted assassination and other activity 
that Western officials say are part of a Russian-masterminded campaign, Putin 
replied there was no detailed proof of Moscow's involvement.

   "What are the specific facts? What has been proven?" he said, adding that 
the accusations showed that Europe was not ready to talk to Russia as an equal 
partner.

   "This only shows that certain political figures in the West are trying to 
carry out aggressive plans against the Russian Federation," he said.

   Asked whether Russia could contribute to a settlement of the war in Iran, 
Putin responded that Moscow's proposal to take enriched uranium from Iran for 
storage remains on the table. He noted Russia did so as part of the 2015 deal 
between Iran and world powers, "and we are ready to do it now."

   His future as president

   Putin, 73, who has held power in Russia for over a quarter-century, was 
asked if he planned to run for another term that would keep him in office until 
2036, when he'll be 83. He laughed and said he's "not even thinking about it."

   "Only God knows if any of us will be healthy enough ... to survive until 
tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, much less solve the problems we face and 
achieve the goals we set for ourselves," he said.

   In 2020, Putin ordered amendments to the Russian Constitution that 
essentially reset his term limits, keeping him in power.

   Drone attacks on St. Petersburg

   Wednesday's drone attack hit the nearby Kronstadt naval base and an oil 
terminal, sending a plume of black smoke above Russia's second-largest city -- 
an embarrassing blow to Putin's efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event 
that doesn't affect Russian daily life.

   It also underscored Kyiv's growing ability to hit deep inside Russia and 
showed the vulnerability of its cities. Scores of flights were delayed or 
diverted at St. Petersburg's airport and authorities cut cellphone internet 
service to try to prevent drone attacks.

   Putin had scaled down Russia's annual Victory Day parade on May 9, fearing 
Ukrainian strikes. Days later, a massive drone attack on Moscow's suburbs 
killed three and showed the capital's vulnerability.

   Peskov said Russia's forces were carrying out "systematic" strikes on Kyiv. 
On Tuesday, Russia launched deadly attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

   Russia's version of Davos

   Putin has used the St. Petersburg forum, likened to the World Economic Forum 
in Davos, Switzerland, to showcase his country's economic advances and 
encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business leaders have 
stayed away after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, Russia has sought 
guests from elsewhere to underline its declared goal of promoting a "multipolar 
world."

   Saudi Arabia sent a large delegation this year, and the presidents of 
Uzbekistan and Tanzania and vice president of China also are present. A U.S. 
official, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is 
attending for the first time in years.

   Russia's economic outlook has clouded as the initial boost from military 
spending has fizzled. The government raised taxes and increased domestic 
borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control.

   Asked at the media session if Russia's economy was struggling because of the 
military action, Putin paraphrased Mark Twain that "rumors of my death are 
highly exaggerated."

   He said the economy was growing but admitted that inflation was a concern.

   "We've deliberately taken steps to cool the economy," Putin said of Russia's 
Central Bank putting the country's key interest rate at 14.5%, which he called 
"a difficult decision."

   "You can say we've cooled off, or you can say we haven't done everything 
yet, but these are deliberate steps. We don't want inflation -- hyperinflation 
-- to reach 60-80%, as it is some countries," he said. "We're fighting for the 
health of the Russian economy as a whole."