Putin accused Ukraine of terrorism in the case of Kirillov's murder, said that Russia was not defeated in Syria

Ukraine has repeatedly committed acts of terrorism against Russian citizens, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today on the occasion of the murder of a high-ranking Russian general in Moscow, Reuters reports.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov, who was the head of the Russian forces for nuclear, biological and chemical protection, was killed on Tuesday in front of the apartment building where he lived, and then his assistant was also killed.

They died in the explosion of a bomb that was attached to an electric scooter.

"This murder was carried out in a way that is dangerous for the lives of many. The regime in Kiev has repeatedly committed such crimes, terrorist crimes, terrorist attacks against many citizens of the Russian Federation," Putin said at the traditional annual press conference.

Russia said on Wednesday it had arrested an Uzbek man who admitted planting and detonating the bomb in Moscow that killed Kirilov on the orders of Ukraine's SBU security service.

Putin also stated that Russia is ready for talks and compromises on Ukraine, but that it needs the other side to be ready for them as well.

Putin also said that Russia was not defeated in Syria and that Moscow made proposals to the new rulers in Damascus to maintain Russian military bases there.

In his first public comments on the subject, Putin said he had yet to meet former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since he was ousted and forced to flee to Moscow earlier this month, but that he planned to do so.

Answering a question from an American journalist on the subject, Putin said he would ask Assad about the fate of American reporter Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria, and that he was ready to ask the new Syrian rulers about Tice's whereabouts.

"I'll tell you honestly, I haven't seen President Assad since he came to Moscow. But I plan to do that. I'll definitely talk to him," Putin said.

He said that the majority of people in Syria with whom Russia has been in contact about the future of its two main military bases in Syria support their stay, but that talks are ongoing.

Russia, which intervened in Syria in 2015 and turned the tide of the civil war there in Assad's favor, has also told other countries they can use its air and naval bases to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria, Putin said.

"You want to portray everything that is happening in Syria as some kind of failure, a defeat of Russia. I assure you, it is not. And I will tell you why. We came to Syria 10 years ago to prevent the creation of a terrorist enclave," Putin said.

He said that they achieved the goal as a whole.

"It is no coincidence that today many European countries and the United States of America want to establish relations with them (the new rulers of Syria). If they are terrorist organizations, why are you (the West) going there, it means they have changed," Putin said.

Putin also said that relations between Russia and China have reached a level that has never been seen before, praising their positive nature.

"Russia and China coordinate their actions on the international stage and will continue to do so," he added.

Russia does not have the prerequisites to start negotiations with Ukraine

Putin said that Russia does not have the prerequisites to start negotiations with Ukraine on a possible peace solution.

Putin said a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators during the early weeks of the war at talks in Istanbul, which was never implemented, could serve as a basis for future talks.

"If and when an agreement is reached, Moscow would be ready to sign it only with the legitimate authorities of Ukraine, which the Kremlin considers to be the Ukrainian parliament," Putin said.

He said that Russia was ready to conduct negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but as he added, Zelensky would have to be re-elected in order for Moscow to consider him a legitimate signatory of any agreement.