Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday that he is ready to speak with President-elect Donald Trump about a peaceful conclusion to the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also hoping to work with the president-elect to end the war.
At an annual press conference, Putin discussed a possible conversation with Trump, who has vowed to broker a peace deal with Ukraine soon after taking office in January. “I don’t know when I’m going to see him. He isn’t saying anything about it. I haven’t talked to him in more than four years. I am ready for it, of course. Any time,” Putin remarked in a reply to a reporter’s question.
The Russian leader further stated that if he does have a meeting with Trump, “I am sure we’ll have a lot to talk about” also noting that the Kremlin is ready for “negotiations and compromises.”
Russia’s war on Ukraine was a major topic, with Putin keen to emphasize Russia’s recent gains in grinding war of attrition.
“You asked what we can offer, or what I can offer to the newly elected President Trump when we meet,” Putin said in response to a question from NBC’s Keir Simmons. “First of all, I don’t know when we will meet. Because he hasn’t said anything about it. I haven’t spoken to him at all in over four years. Of course, I am ready for this at any time, and I will be ready for a meeting if he wants it.”
Asked whether Russia would be in a weaker negotiating position because of recent setbacks in the Middle East and on the battlefield in Ukraine, Putin replied, “You said that this conversation will take place in a situation when I am in some weakened state… And you, and those people who pay your salaries in the US, would very much like Russia to be in a weakened position.
Meanwhile, Zelensky, speaking in Brussels, Belgium, indicated that he welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the president-elect. “I think that President Trump is a strong man and I want very much to have him on our side,” Zelenskyy said, as reported by NDTV.
The Ukrainian leader did express some reservations a ceasefire that could enable Moscow to regroup and prepare for future offensives. “Can you imagine that in two months, Putin will come back, in six months, in one year, in two years? Who will lose? Everybody. Everybody will lose,” he said.
In late November, Zelensky told Sky News that he could envision a scenario in which Ukraine temporarily cedes some territory to Russia while NATO could help to protect the rest of the nation while the two parties negotiate a peace deal. “If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory or Ukraine that we have under our control,” he said. Later, “Ukraine can get [its territory] back in a diplomatic way,” Zelensky added.
Trump promised on the campaign trail to end the war in Ukraine before his inauguration.