"We should meet" Putin praises Trump and says he is ready to talk
The Russian President supports the claim that the 2020 election was rigged. He finds more words of praise for the new US president and wants to meet with Trump.
24.01.2025, 20:53
dpa
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- Putin praises Trump as a "clever and pragmatic man" who focuses on the interests of the USA.
- The conflict in Ukraine could have been prevented if Trump had been president at the time, Putin said.
- Putin emphasized on Friday that he was open to talks, but referred to Zelensky's decision in 2022 to rule out negotiations with Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed up a claim by US President Donald Trump regarding the war of aggression against Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine could have been prevented if Trump had been president at the time, Putin said in an interview on Russian state television. He praised the new US president as a "smart and pragmatic man" who focused on the interests of the USA.
"We have always had a business-like, pragmatic, but also trusting relationship with the current US president," Putin said. "I cannot disagree with him that the crisis that arose in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided if he had been president, if victory had not been stolen from him in 2020." Putin has never before so directly supported Trump's refusal to recognize his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump said in an interview on Thursday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi should have reached an agreement with Putin to avoid the conflict. Putin emphasized on Friday that he was open to talks, but referred to Zelenskyi's decision in 2022 to rule out negotiations with Moscow.
"How is it possible to hold talks if they are forbidden?" said Putin. If talks were to begin within the existing legal framework, they would be illegitimate, and the results of these talks could also be declared illegitimate, he said.
But the US and Russia also had many other issues to discuss, Putin explained. These included nuclear arms control and economic issues. The sanctions against Russia, which were introduced during Trump's first term and under Joe Biden's administration, had harmed US interests and undermined the role of the dollar in the global financial system.
"We should meet and talk calmly about all issues that are of interest to both the US and Russia, based on today's realities," Putin said.
Trump threatened on Wednesday to impose high tariffs and sanctions on Russia if no agreement is reached to end the war in Ukraine.