The Russian president, Vladimir Putincongratulated this Monday the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, hours before his inauguration, stating that he is “open to dialogue” on Ukraine to achieve a “lasting peace”three years after he launched his invasion against the neighboring country.
“We are also open to dialogue with the new American administration on the Ukrainian conflict,” Putin said in a meeting with ministers broadcast on Russian television. Any agreement must guarantee “a lasting peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people”, he added.
Regarding possible talks on Ukraine, Putin has specified that “The most important thing is to eliminate the root causes” of the conflict, which, he recalled, Russia has already mentioned “many times”, according to the TASS agency.
President Putin has already congratulated Trump on his victory in the elections and expressed his desire to be able to “work together” with the new US administration to resolve the “crisis”, taking into account “the positions of the two countries.”
“Of course, we will fight for the interests of Russia, for the interests of the Russian people.”
The return of Donald Trump to the White House has generated some uncertainty in kyiv and its closest allies due to its position regarding the war in Ukraine, a conflict that it assured it would be able to resolve within 24 hours.
Putin recalled that his victory in the November presidential elections was “convincing” and what showed “courage” during the campaign, which was not easy for Trump and his family because it included “an assassination attempt.”
He also highlighted that Moscow has taken note of the statements by Trump and his team “about the desire to resume direct contacts with Russia that were interrupted not because of our fault, but because of the outgoing administration”.
“We assume that dialogue must be based on a basis of equality and mutual respecttaking into account the significant role that our countries play in a series of key issues on the global agenda, including strengthening stability and strategic security,” he insisted.
“The most important thing here is eradicate the original causes of the crisis“, he noted, in clear reference to the approach of NATO’s military infrastructure to the Russian borders.
Trump said last year that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia was “dying to be solved” and that he would talk to both Moscow and kyiv to avoid a “Third World War.”
Putin said he “welcomed” Trump’s desire to avoid a third world war.
“We certainly welcome this attitude and We congratulate the president-elect of the United States on taking office”, he stated.
During the meeting, the head of the Kremlin listened to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s report on relations with the United States.
The Kremlin hopes that it will be Trump himself who will take the initiative to call his Russian counterpart by phone.
“I don’t want to give the impression that Moscow is sitting around waiting for the phone call from Washington to come.. No, we are calmly waiting when Trump’s team assumes his duties and he enters the Oval Office. Afterwards, we’ll see,” Yuri Ushakov, presidential advisor for international affairs, said a few days ago.
(with information from AFP, EFE and EP)
