MONITORING (SW) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is ready to discuss the war in Ukraine with his US counterpart Donald Trump and suggested it would be a good idea for them to meet.
In his first comments since Trump issued threats to inflict economic damage on Russia if it failed to end the war in Ukraine, Putin struck a favourable tone towards the US president.
Putin told a Russian state TV journalist: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.
“It would be better for us to meet, based on the realities of today, to talk calmly.”
Putin went on to describe his relationship with Trump as “businesslike, pragmatic and trustworthy”.
He added that negotiating with Ukraine was complicated by the fact that its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had signed a decree preventing him from conducting talks with Putin, reported Guardian.
In what seems to be an effort to court Trump’s favour, Putin echoed the US president’s claim that he would have prevented the war starting in Ukraine in 2022, and parroted Trump’s debunked assertion that the 2020 US elections were “stolen” from him.
In the days since his inauguration, Trump has repeatedly called for a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine, now nearing its third year, and has expressed his readiness to meet Putin “immediately”.
In his nightly video address late on Friday, Zelenskyy said that Putin was seeking to “manipulate” Trump.
“He is trying to manipulate the US president’s desire to achieve peace. I am confident that no Russian manipulations will succeed any longer,” he said.
Trump’s attempts to persuade Putin to negotiate have been reinforced by threats to escalate pressure on Russia’s already strained economy, including introducing sanctions and tariffs, if Moscow fails to “make a deal” to end the war.
“Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue,” he said.
Oil and gas revenues have been Russia’s most important source of cash, accounting for a third to a half of federal budget proceeds over the past decade.
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