Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US presidential poll and said that Moscow is ready to have dialogue with the Republican president-elect.
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his victory in the US presidential election. I have already said that we will work with any head of state who is trusted by the American people,” Putin said while addressing the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi on November 7.
As per Al Jazeera, these were the first public remarks from Putin since Trump’s victory. He had also praised Trump for displaying courage during the 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 in his addressat the Valdai discussion club, Al Jazeera reported.
Putin 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.
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, according to Al Jazeera.
Moscow has also repeatedly denied US assertions that Russia meddled in the 2024 and other presidential elections and had spread disinformation.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has been putting pressure on its allies to gather more support in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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.