Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin, congratulating Donald Trump on winning the US elections, said that he is ready to talk to the next President of America. Putin made his first public comments on the US election results during a policy forum in the Russian city of Sochi. Answering questions at the end of a long speech, Putin said he would like to ‘take this opportunity to congratulate (Trump) on his election as President of the United States.’ When asked if he was ready to discuss with Trump, he replied: ‘We are ready. Putin said he “doesn’t know” what the outcome will be of Trump’s proposal to negotiate an early end to the war in Ukraine. However, he said that the proposals of the newly elected President of America are worth studying. The Russian president also said he was impressed by the way Trump handled himself during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this year.
“He turned out to be a courageous man,” he said. Putin said that people show who they are only in extraordinary circumstances. This is where a person reveals himself. In my opinion, he showed himself very correctly, courageously. Trump has criticized US aid to Ukraine – which has soared to more than $100 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 – raising fears in Kiev and the EU that Trump wants to establish peace primarily on Moscow’s terms. Putin also said that political forces in Washington had prevented Trump from improving relations with Moscow during his previous term.