Russia opens door to ‘new relationship’ with U.S. as Putin wrestles with Ukraine deadlock

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — President Vladimir Putin looked out across a familiar scene on Friday — and a changing world.

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The regimented ranks of government officials, business leaders and supporters who lined up to listen to the Russian leader speak at the International Economic Forum appeared much the same as they have for years.

But optimism that followed an August summit with President Donald Trump in Alaska has given way to a stalemate in Ukraine, both on the battlefield and in talks to end the conflict. On Thursday, the U.S. House passed bipartisan legislation that would provide new aid to Ukraine and impose sanctions against Moscow.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has boosted inflation and persistent Ukrainian drone attacks have compounded fuel shortages, imposing more pain on a country already saddled with sanctions.

Once a showcase for economic optimism, Putin’s summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg was this year dominated by drones — those manufactured in Russia and featured on display stands throughout the cavernous event center, as well as those launched from Ukraine, terrifying residents of this historic city.

Dismissing a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting, Putin said there was “no point.” “First, let experts work, work something out, and then we can meet to sign things,” he said, according to a translation provided by the forum’s organizers. He also questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy to take part in negotiations, with a Ukrainian presidential election due in 2024 but postponed because of the war.

He thanked President Donald Trump for his efforts to end a conflict that entered its fourth year in February. “It’s useful, but there are other things that still need to be done,” he said.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, speaking to NBC News at the forum, also insisted Moscow remains open to improved ties with Washington. “Russia never turned its back to the United States,” he said. “We are ready and open to this new relationship. The ball is in your court.”

Anyone hoping to enter the room for Putin’s address had to undergo a PCR test for respiratory illnesses, one of many strict security measures in place. The leader was surrounded by a phalanx of armed guards as he moved through the venue.

Iran is key to the shifting conditions Putin faces, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, suggesting it has displaced Ukraine as a priority for the White House.

“Unfortunately, they’re paying less attention, and we need them to pay more attention,” she told NBC News this week, referring to Trump’s efforts to help mediate an end to the war that began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in February 2022.

Underscoring the deep antagonism between Moscow and Kyiv after more than four years of war, at a press briefing Thursday, Zakharova held up pictures of teenagers Russia says were killed in an attack last month on a college dormitory in Russian-occupied Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. She cried as she read out their names.

Ukraine has denied targeting civilians, saying it was aiming at a military unit near the town.

There is little sign of a conclusion to this conflict on the battlefield or around the negotiating table — despite the offer of a face-to-face meeting made Thursday in an open letter from Zelenskyy.

He urged Putin to end the war, warning that otherwise domestic discontent may mean “you, too, will have to fight much harder for your own existence — not Russia’s, but your own.”

Deal almost ready?

On the sidelines of the event, Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev told NBC News that he had been in constant contact with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, whom the president has tasked with bringing the war to an end.

A deal was almost ready to be signed, he declared, adding that he was “speaking to them this week, last week and the week before.”

“Ukraine has already agreed to leave the Donbas in exchange for security guarantees,” Dmitriev said, referring to a region in eastern Ukraine that is the focus of much of the fighting between the two countries.

Ukrainian communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn rejected this.

Zelenskyy “has already said publicly on multiple occasions — you can look it up — that Ukraine will not give up its land,” he said.

As the war drags on, many Russian businesses are struggling to stay afloat as the economy stagnates.

During a rare interview, billionaire Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov acknowledged the painful impact of sanctions placed on Russia as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

“Whoever tells you that sanctions do not work is wrong,” said Yevtushenkov, who made his fortune in banking and telecom after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Higher oil prices due to the Iran war have helped boost the Kremlin’s coffers, but not enough to offset the impact of its own unresolved conflict.

Comparing Russia’s experience to that of Iran, which has also endured long-term economic isolation, Yevtushenkov said: “We could not understand how they survived. Today we are in the same position.”

While Western sanctions have undoubtedly hurt Russian businesses, he said, companies have adapted after more than four years of restrictions, and the economy may now be approaching a turning point.

“We are very close to the moment when the war ends and economic growth begins again,” he said, despite mounting challenges from sanctions, labor shortages and rising costs. He added: “We are not only surviving, we are developing as well.”

This year’s special guest at the St. Petersburg conference is Saudi Arabia, while high-level delegations from Iran and China have largely replaced a European or American presence.

While wars next door and in the Middle East hung over the conference, the issue of culture was central for some attendees.

A roundtable discussion at the forum included former movie star Steven Seagal, a strong supporter of Putin’s, as well as architect Rodney Mims Cook Jr., the chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, who is also overseeing the controversial White House ballroom project. Cook, the first U.S. official to attend the event in nearly 10 years, according to the Kremlin, welcomed the idea of joint concerts and ice hockey matches. But first there needs to be “peace,” he said.

At a panel focused on what little remains of U.S.-Russian business ties, others suggested that Russia’s abundance of rare earths and minerals could be a catalyst for a reset.

Putin himself remains publicly bullish, highlighting Russia’s low unemployment rate and development of AI.

While he admitted that the country’s deficit might increase this year, he said that “inflation has slowed down significantly, and it keeps going down.”