Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on his US election victory and said Moscow was ready for dialogue with the Republican president-elect.
Trump, who also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has boasted he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine within hours and has repeatedly criticized US aid to Ukraine.
What the two men said about each other
In his first public remarks since Trump’s win, Putin highlighted Trump’s remarks during the US election campaign about Ukraine and restoring relations with Russia.
“What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, this deserves attention at least,” said Putin.
“I take this opportunity to congratulate him,” Putin said in remarks to the Valdai forum in the southern Russian city of Sochi.
When asked if he was open to holding talks with Trump, the Russian leader said: “Ready.”
Putin also praised Trump, saying the former president had acted like a “real man” during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July.
Trump also revealed he was prepared for some kind of conversation, telling NBC News in an interview that “I think we’ll speak.”
The 78-year-old said he had spoken to “probably” 70 world leaders since Wednesday morning but revealed that he had not talked to Putin.
A book by US investigative reporter Bob Woodward has asserted that Trump and Putin may have spoken as many as seven times during Joe Biden’s presidency.
Trump has repeatedly expressed admiration for Putin as well as other authoritarian leaders such as China’s Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Zelensky says call with Trump ‘excellent’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had an “excellent call” with Trump, who has threatened to cut off the steady flow of US aid for Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s nearly three-year-old invasion.
“I praised his family and team for their great work,” Zelenskyy said. “We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering US leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.”
Kyiv is desperate to shore up support from European allies in its fight against Moscow after Trump’s victory raised doubts about future US assistance.
Speaking to European leaders at a summit in Hungary, Zelenskyy said it would be “unacceptable” for Europe to offer the Kremlin concessions to halt its invasion of Ukraine.
He criticized those who were pressuring him to give in to some of Putin’s tough demands that Ukraine cede swathes more territory in its east and south as a precondition to peace talks.
“There has been much talk about the need to yield to Putin, to back down, to make some concessions,” Zelensky said in an address.
“It’s unacceptable for Ukraine and unacceptable for all Europe,” he added.
rc/wd (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
