President Vladimir Putin said on Friday (December 19) Russia would be ready to stop the war in Ukraine immediately if it received guarantees of its security and that Moscow had no intention of attacking Europe.

"It is not us who are fighting you. It is you who are fighting us via the Ukrainian nationalists. We are ready to cease these hostilities immediately, while ensuring Russia's security in the medium and long term. And we are ready to cooperate with you," Putin said.

Putin told his annual end-of-year press conference that Russia was open for cooperation "on equal terms" with the West.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (DECEMBER 19, 2025) (RUSSIAN POOL - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN'S ANNUAL 'RESULTS OF THE YEAR' NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

2. BBC REPORTER STEVE ROSENBERG ASKING QUESTION

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:

“It was you— not you personally, but Western politicians—who created the current situation with their own hands and continue to escalate it. They constantly say that they are preparing for a war with Russia. But you personally have been living here (in Russia) for years. You understand, as do those who talk about war: are we really planning to attack Europe? What kind of nonsense is that?"

4. ROSENBERG BEING SHOWN AT PRESS CONFERENCE DISPLAY

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN ,SAYING:

“We are ready to work with you - with UK, with Europe in whole, with U.S – but on equal terms and mutual respect. By the way, if finally we have it (cooperation on equal terms), everyone would benefit from it.”

6. JOURNALISTS LISTENING TO PUTIN

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN ,SAYING:

“It is not us who are fighting you. It is you who are fighting us via the Ukrainian nationalists. We are ready to cease these hostilities immediately, while ensuring Russia's security in the medium and long term. And we are ready to cooperate with you."

8. KREMLIN SPOKESMAN DMITRY PESKOV LISTENING TO PUTIN

9. PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRES