Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on winning the United States election, saying Moscow was ready for dialogue with the Republican president-elect.
In his first public remarks since Trump’s win, Putin on Thursday praised the US leader’s courage during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 14.
“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way – courageously, like a real man,” Putin said at the Valdai discussion club, an international forum, in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Asked whether he was open to holding talks with Trump, the Russian leader said, “Ready”.
Putin, 72, also said that Trump’s comments “about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, deserves attention at least”.
The Kremlin earlier welcomed Trump’s claim that he could negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine “in 24 hours” but emphasised that it would wait for concrete policy steps.
During his presidential campaign in the US, Trump said that he could bring peace to Ukraine within 24 hours if elected, but he has given few details on how he would seek to end the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
As to what he expects from a second Trump administration, Putin said, “I don’t know what will happen now. I have no idea.”
“For him, this is still his last presidential term. What he will do is his matter,” Putin said.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow remembered Trump’s words on resolving the war in Ukraine but that the incoming US president “exaggerated” the speed at which he could do it.
“If the new administration is going to look for peace, not for the continuation of the war, it will be better in comparison with the previous one,” Peskov said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is scrambling to put pressure on its allies for more support in its fight against Russia following Trump’s victory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump.
“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,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Wednesday.
But in his plan to end the war, Trump suggested that Ukraine might have to cede territory to Russia to reach a peace deal, something Ukraine has rejected and US President Joe Biden never suggested.
Speaking to European leaders at a summit in Hungary, Zelenskyy blasted those urging him to give in to some of Putin’s hardline demands and urged Europe and the US not to loosen ties following the election of Trump.
“There has been much talk about the need to yield to Putin, to back down, to make some concessions … It’s unacceptable for Ukraine and unacceptable for all Europe,” Zelensky said.
“We need sufficient weapons, not support in talks. Hugs with Putin won’t help. Some of you have been hugging him for 20 years, and things are only getting worse,” he said.
Zelenskyy also urged Europe and the US to preserve their strong ties following Trump’s victory.
“We do hope that America will become stronger. This is the kind of America that Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs. This is the connection between allies that must be valued and cannot be lost,” he said.
Meanwhile, reports say Biden plans to rush billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine before he leaves office in January.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US has already provided more than $64.1bn in military assistance to Ukraine, according to the data by the US Department of State.