Russian President Vladimir Putin (Archive)

Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out Friday that the partial mobilization process will be completed within two weeks, highlighting that 222,000 men out of 300,000 have been called up for military service.

"This work is already being completed. Now 222,000 men out of 300,000 have been mobilized. I think that all mobilization activities will be completed within about two weeks," Putin indicated, pointing out that he saw no need for expanding partial mobilization in the future.

"Firstly, the Defense Ministry originally had a lower estimate, not 300,000 thousand. Secondly, there are no additional plans. No proposals from the Defense Ministry have been received in this regard. In the foreseeable future, I do not see any need" for expanding partial mobilization, the Russian President explained.

Putin said the Russian armed forces units have so far received 33,000 troops that were mobilized and about half of them have been assigned combat missions.

"I said 222,000 [mobilized people] are now part of troops forming units, so 33,000 mobilized people are stationed in units and 16,000 are stationed in units that are assigned combat missions," he noted.

It is noteworthy that Putin signed on September 21 a decree to hold a partial military mobilization.

More massive strikes against Ukraine not necessary for now: Putin

The Russian leader pointed out that he does not plan more "massive" strikes against Ukraine "for now" and that the Kremlin's aim was not to "destroy" Ukraine.

"There is no need now for massive strikes. There are other tasks. For now. And then it will be clear," Putin told reporters.

"We do not set ourselves the task of destroying Ukraine," he added, saying that Russia is "doing everything right" in the country.

Putin stressed that "our goal is not to destroy all of Ukraine. As for them, at some point they just went and cut the water supply to Crimea, where 2.4 million people live. Our troops had to enter the area and reopen the water supply to Crimea. Had they refrained from taking that action, there would have been no retaliatory actions."

Ukraine changed its stance on negotiations

According to the Russian President, Ukraine modified its stance on negotiations with Russia as soon as Russian troops withdrew from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

"As soon as the [Russian] troops withdrew from Kiev, the Ukrainian authorities immediately lost the desire to hold the negotiations and that is what happened. If they get ready for that, then, perhaps, the mediatory efforts of all interested parties will be needed," Putin said.

In the same context, Putin noted that Beijing and New Delhi always pointed to the need for dialogue to peacefully solve the conflict.

"We know their position. These are our close allies and partners and we respect their position," he said.

Deploying troops for direct clash with Russia is very dangerous

Commenting on the remarks of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who said that Ukraine’s defeat would mean the alliance's defeat, Putin considered that "the deployment of any troops for a direct clash with the Russian army is a very dangerous step that could lead to a global catastrophe."

"I hope that those who are talking about it will have enough sense to refrain from such steps," he added.

Ukraine war did not affect cooperation with CIS countries

The Russian President said the war in Ukraine hadn’t affected the formats of Russia’s cooperation with its partners in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"All formats work. Our allies and partners want to work in these formats. Nothing changes in that sense," he noted, adding that "the partners are interested in the future development of relations in the Russian-Ukrainian area."

In a related context, Putin pointed out that "active attempts are being made, in particular, to move to national currencies in settlements between the Commonwealth countries," confirming that "joint initiatives on import substitution and establishing financial and technological sovereignty have been launched."

This makes it possible "regardless of external factors to expand commodity exchanges, make mutual investments, develop our own capital market, and thus deepen continental economic integration," the Russian President explained.

"I would like to note that despite the sanctions pressure, which we are all well aware of, our economic exchange with the CIS countries is consistently expanding," he added.

Turning CICA into regional security organization is reasonable

Regarding the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Putin considered that turning the CICA into a regional security organization is a reasonable decision.

"I believe that this is reasonable and relevant, as threats are many not only in Europe, but in Asia as well. I will not mention them all, you surely know them yourselves. The way I see it, this is very relevant and timely, and all participants supported it," Putin explained.

He also expressed his country's interest in getting Central Asian nations on board Russia's import substitution programs.

"We are interested in your countries joining large-scale Russian initiatives on import substitution and other programs. I am confident that it will benefit the development of all our economies, while acquiring new skills," he said.

Putin stressed that Russia "is ready to provide practical assistance in restoring the unified energy system of Central Asia, which, of course, will increase the energy security of all countries in the region."

The Russian leader warned that there are external efforts to interfere in political, economic, and humanitarian relations between Russia and Central Asian countries.

He indicated that Russia has become even more interesting for Asia and that "trade volumes are actually growing, and growing at the same time at a quicker pace than in prior years."

West supporting groups opposing the Taliban

Shifting to the situation in Afghanistan, Putin highlighted that "western secret services, primarily US and British ones, are providing support for groups opposing the Taliban and encouraging them to shell the border areas of some Central Asian countries."

"We are aware of the risks and threats associated with this, and therefore we maintain the necessary level of contacts with the leadership of the Taliban movement," he added.

"Under pressure from foreign secret services, the Taliban have to turn a blind eye to the emergence of terrorist strongholds in the north [of Afghanistan]," the Russian President considered, affirming that "it is in our interests to prevent a recurrence of the civil war in Afghanistan."

Talks with Biden unnecessary at the moment

Asked about the possibility of a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in Indonesia in mid-November, Putin said he doesn't see any need for such talks at the moment.

"He should be asked whether he is ready to hold such negotiations with me or not. To be honest, I don’t see any need by and large. There is no platform for any negotiations for the time being," he told the media.

The Russian President added that "no direct negotiations with any of the G20 participants are on the agenda," but noted that Russia maintains permanent contact with some of these countries, such as Turkey.

He also clarified that a decision on his participation in the summit had not been finally decided yet.

Launch of Nord Stream 2 unlikely to be made

Regarding Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Putin explained that a decision to launch one remaining line is not being made and is unlikely to be made.

"But this is no longer our concern, it is the concern of our partners. I have voiced my version of what guides the leaders of certain states in their business. It seems to me that this is precisely the essence of the problem," he said.