With both US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, having expressed their desires to end the war in Ukraine, Trump, in the latest development, says he would speak to the Russian leader soon to help settle the war in Ukraine. Just a day earlier, Putin said that Russia is ready for talks with the US on a broad range of issues. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Trump said that he has spoken to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and wants to speak to his Russian counterpart, adding, "They would like to see an end to the war. I think President Putin would like to see an end to the war too."
Trump has been repeatedly making the claims that under his watch as the President, the war would have never broken out. On Thursday, Trump told Fox News that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should have made a deal with Putin to avoid the conflict.
Putin on Friday told Russian state TV that Russia is open to and ready for negotiations, as he added, "We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together."
"We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current US president,” Putin said. “I couldn't disagree with him that if he had been president if they hadn't stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided."
The remarks are being seen as a bold endorsement of Trump's refusal to accept his defeat in the 2020 election. Putin emphasised on Friday that he's open to talks but pointed to Zelenskyy's 2022 decision to rule out negotiations with Moscow.
Putin described Trump as "not only clever but a pragmatic man," adding, “I find it hard to imagine that he would make decisions that would hurt the American economy.” “We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities,” Putin said.