In a marathon televised event on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told viewers there would be no more military operations after the war in Ukraine — provided the West treats Russia “with respect” and stops what he called betrayals of Russian interests.

Speaking during the Kremlin’s annual “Direct Line” call-in session, which lasted nearly four and a half hours, Putin rejected claims that Moscow intends to expand the conflict into other European countries as “nonsense.” When BBC correspondent Steve Rosenberg asked whether there would be new “special military operations” — the Kremlin’s term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — Putin replied bluntly: “There won’t be any operations if you treat us with respect, if you respect our interests just as we’ve always tried to respect yours.”

Putin repeated a familiar Kremlin grievance about NATO’s post-Cold War expansion, saying further invasions would not occur “if you don’t cheat us like you cheated us with NATO’s eastward expansion.” He and other Russian officials have long asserted — despite denials from Western leaders and contradictory accounts from the time — that Western leaders gave an assurance in 1990 not to expand NATO eastward. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev later denied that such a promise was made.

The “Direct Line” session combined questions from members of the public and journalists across Russia. Putin answered queries while seated beneath a massive map of Russia that, notably, included territories internationally recognized as part of Ukraine — including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. State television said more than three million questions were submitted for the event.

Putin’s remarks come amid continuing hostilities in Ukraine. Just hours after the televised marathon ended, Ukrainian officials reported that a Russian missile strike hit the southern Odesa region, killing seven people and injuring 15 more, underscoring the ongoing human cost of the conflict that began in February 2022.

The Kremlin leader’s message combined reassurance with a stark warning: peace, he suggested, is conditional on Western behavior toward Russia and recognition of what he frames as Russian security interests. Western leaders have repeatedly framed Russia’s invasion as an unprovoked attempt to redraw Europe’s borders by force; Moscow rejects that framing and points to NATO’s enlargement and other security issues as provocations.

Friday’s broadcast further highlighted the deeply entrenched mutual suspicions that make diplomatic progress difficult. Putin’s promise of no further wars, tied to demands for respect and the reversal of perceived Western betrayals, is likely to be received skeptically in capitals that view Russia’s recent actions as evidence of expansionist intent rather than the defensive posture Moscow describes.