Asked whether Russia would be in a weaker negotiating position because of recent setbacks in the Middle East and in Ukraine, Putin replied:
“You said that this conversation will take place in a situation when I am in some weakened state… And you, and those people who pay your salaries in the US, would very much like Russia to be in a weakened position. I adhere to a different point of view. I believe that Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years. Why? Because we are becoming a truly sovereign country, we are already hardly dependent on anyone.”
Putin also said, with hindsight, there should have been “systemic preparation” for the 2022 invasion, which he refers to as a “special military operation”.