Vladimir Putin said Thursday he was ready to meet US President-elect Donald Trump “at any time”, amid speculation about the launch of a possible peace process around Ukraine.
“I don’t know when I’m going to see him. He doesn’t say anything about it. I haven’t spoken to him in over four years. I’m ready to do it, of course. Any time,” said declared the Russian president during his major annual press conference in Moscow.
“And I will also be ready for a meeting, if he wants it,” he added.
“If we ever meet President-elect Trump, I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about,” he said.
Donald Trump said Monday he wanted to speak to Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop the “carnage” of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Mr. Trump, who is due to take office in January, promised during his election campaign to end the war quickly, and has already called for an “immediate ceasefire” and talks, so much so that Europeans and Ukrainians fear he could force major concessions from kyiv and hand the Kremlin a geopolitical victory.
The US president-elect said Ukraine should “probably” expect less aid from Washington and opposed kyiv’s use of Western missiles to strike Russia.
For his part, Vladimir Putin has stated on numerous occasions that he is ready for discussions with Ukraine provided that they are based on “the realities on the ground”, where Russian forces have had the advantage since the start of the year.
Russia is demanding in particular that Ukraine cede four regions that it partially occupies — those of Donetsk and Lugansk in the east and those of Zaporizhia and Kherson in the south — in addition to Crimea annexed in 2014, and that kyiv renounces its ambition to join NATO.
Volodymyr Zelensky has long been categorically opposed to any concession, but has softened this position in recent months in the face of the difficulties of his army on the front and fears of a weakening of Western aid.
From Brussels, he urged Europeans on Thursday not to abandon his country and to show unity, including with the United States, a few weeks before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
