MOSCOW — Russia has weathered the worst of its economic troubles and is on the road to recovery, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday during a marathon call-in TV show, offering to normalize ties with the West if it treats Moscow as an equal partner and not a “vassal.”
He also defended the delivery of a long-range air defense missile system to Iran, casting it as a reward for Iran’s flexibility in nuclear talks and vowing to continue working with global partners to reach a definitive solution to the country’s contested nuclear program.
Putin mixed promises with warnings and some humor during the carefully choreographed four-hour national broadcast, an annual affair intended to burnish his father-of-the nation image and secure his control over the Russian political scene.
“The main condition for restoring normal relations is to have respect for Russia and its interests,” Putin said, adding that the United States “doesn’t need allies; they need vassals.”
