Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is ready and willing to meet President-elect Donald Trump “if he wishes” after four years of no contact.
“What can I offer when I meet with President-elect Trump? First of all, he won't say anything about it, so I don't know when we will meet,” Putin said on state television Thursday morning. He said this at a press conference.
“I haven't talked to him for over four years, but of course I'm always ready to talk,” he added. “If he wishes, I will arrange a meeting.”
He added that he would have “a lot to talk about” with Trump, who has frequently touted his ties to the Russian leader.
Putin told reporters that while some in the United States may see Russia as “in a weakened position” amid the nearly three-year war with Ukraine, he believes “I have a different perspective,” he said.
“I believe that Russia has become much stronger in the last two or three years. Why? Because we are becoming a truly sovereign state,” he said at a year-end press conference. “We are no longer dependent on anyone.”
Despite criticism of the war and land-grabbing efforts, Putin has said he is open to negotiations that require compromise.
“Politics is the art of compromise, and we have always said that we are ready to both negotiate and compromise,” he said.
“It's just that the other side has refused to negotiate, both literally and figuratively. “We are always ready,” the Russian leader said. “The result of negotiations is always a compromise.” Ta.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has also pushed for Ukraine to include Russia in peace talks, but has indicated that Ukraine would do so if it came to power on the battlefield.
“I would argue that we should stop talking about what a peace process should look like step by step,” Rutte said earlier this month.
“We must ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to be in a strong position when peace negotiations begin and the Ukrainian government decides it is ready,” he added.
President-elect Trump has been meeting with foreign leaders in recent weeks, including inviting them to his Mar-a-Lago mansion, but ahead of his inauguration, he met with President Putin to discuss the Ukraine war. It is unclear whether he will agree to the talks. In Florida.
