Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is ready for talks with United States counterpart Donald Trump on Ukraine.
Putin revealed it to newsmen this Friday, praising Trump as a “smart” leader who might have prevented the conflict from starting in 2022.
Putin said Trump not winning the election in 2020 contributed to the crisis in Ukraine that emerged in 2022.“I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president—if his victory hadn’t been stolen in 2020—then maybe there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that emerged in 2022,” he said.
Though Trump had earlier announced that he was willing to meet with Putin, the Kremlin said it was still waiting for “signals” from Washington.
Ukraine reacted, warning against being excluded from negotiations.
Recall that Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday, called the conflict “ridiculous” and threatened Russia with tougher economic sanctions if it does not agree to stop its offensive.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on the same day, Trump said he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices, saying that if the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately.
Putin responded that lower oil prices might expedite the end of the conflict.