In his Christmas message, Vladimir Putin accuses the West of wanting to “tear Russia apart”

In an interview broadcast on Sunday, Vladimir Putin said the West was trying to “tear Russia apart.”

The Russian president's message, in which he also accused his rivals of a lack of participation in the talks, was broadcast on Russian television on Christmas Day.

Putin also said he was “100 percent” confident that his forces would destroy the Pentagon's most advanced air defense system, which US President Joe Biden has promised to deliver to Ukraine.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most devastating conflict in Europe since World War II and the greatest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

The Kremlin has said it will continue to fight until all its goals are achieved, while Kyiv has said it will not rest until all Russian soldiers are expelled from its entire territory, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

“We are ready to negotiate acceptable solutions with all parties, but it is up to them – it is not we who are refusing to negotiate, but they,” Putin said in an interview with state television Rossiya 1 broadcast on Sunday.

CIA Director William Burns said in an interview published this month that while most conflicts are resolved through negotiations, the CIA believes Russia is not yet serious about genuine negotiations to end the war.

Putin said Russia was acting in the “right direction” in Ukraine because the West, led by the US, was trying to divide Russia. Washington denies planning a collapse of Russia.

“I believe that we are acting in the right direction. We are defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we have no choice but to protect our citizens,” Putin said.

When asked whether the geopolitical conflict with the West was reaching a dangerous level, Putin said: “I do not think it is that dangerous.”

He said the West started the conflict in Ukraine in 2014 by overthrowing a pro-Russian president during the Maidan Revolution protests.

Soon after this revolution, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and Russian-backed separatist forces began fighting against Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.

“In fact, this is essentially about the policy of our geopolitical opponents, which aims to tear apart Russia, historical Russia,” Putin said.

Putin describes the “special military operation” in Ukraine as a turning point when Moscow finally stood up to the Western bloc, which he believes has been trying to destroy Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what they describe as an imperialist war of occupation that has brought suffering and death throughout Ukraine.

Putin described Russia as a “unique country” and said the vast majority of its people were united in their desire to defend it.

“As for the majority – the 99.9 percent of our citizens, our people who are ready to give everything for the interests of the Fatherland – this is nothing unusual for me,” Putin said.

“This convinces me once again that Russia is a unique country and that we have extraordinary people. This has been confirmed time and again throughout Russia's history.”