Annual press conference – When it came to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin briefly lost his cool

It was one of the more relaxed moments at the traditional annual press conference with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. The 69-year-old was asked how he felt about “Ded Moros”, an originally Russian fairy tale character from Slavic mythology that resembles Santa Claus.

He owes his job to him, replied the Russian President. He has always had good relations with “Ded Moros” and is “grateful to him that I can speak to you in my capacity as President”.

Putin faced national and international journalists for hours on Thursday. Their questions, which had to be submitted in advance, covered numerous topics such as domestic and foreign policy, the corona pandemic, the country’s economic situation or the conflict over the Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian border.

Putin repeatedly underlined his demand for swift security guarantees from the USA and NATO. In the Ukraine conflict, Moscow demands that NATO reduce its military presence in Central and Eastern Europe and not accept Ukraine. A core principle of NATO, however, is that it is open to any country that meets the requirements for membership.

Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has repeatedly deceived Russia with its eastward expansion, according to Putin – an often repeated but controversial perception. The annual press conference was supposed to show that Putin immediately demands guarantees, but refuses to make binding commitments – and reacts thinly when asked about them.

When a reporter from “Sky News” asked whether Moscow could also give security guarantees and promise not to invade Ukraine, Putin replied, visibly angry: “You are demanding guarantees from us? It is you who should give us guarantees. Immediately. Right now. And don’t talk about it for decades. “

It is astonishing how Putin’s expression, tone and body language changed when he was “invited to another angry monologue about Russia’s foreign policy and NATO enlargement”, tweeted a British journalist from the press conference. “When it comes to most domestic political issues, he seems like a bored school kid these days.”

But despite all the irritation: The Moscow press conference was able to dispel some western concerns about the concentration of Russian troops and the feared winter war in Ukraine, writes the Finnish “Helsingin Sanomat”.

Because «Putin undoubtedly knows that he is making demands that no one will agree to. After Thursday’s statements, however, it seems that any direct negotiation with Washington would be a gain for him. ” Putin’s remarks should not exactly cause cheers, but “for Russia’s western neighbors, the press conference on Thursday could have been far more worrying.”

On the other hand, the Frankfurter Rundschau commented that the annual press conference had once again shown how difficult it was to talk to Putin: “He answers critical questions, especially about geopolitics, by assigning blame to others, to questions about local problems in Russia – garbage, more medical Supply, infrastructure – he knew advice or promised to work personally for solutions. ”

The German newspaper continues: «The former secret service agent was once again commuting between images of the enemy and omnipotence. If the problems he mentioned – economic and demographic development, medical care and many others – are to be solved, Russia needs international cooperation. “