New Delhi: Russian President Vladmir Putin said that excessively low or high energy prices harm both the US and Russia, adding, “We have a lot to discuss.” He argued that US sanctions, under both Trump and Biden, had harmed American interests, undermining the dollar’s global standing. He said he was optimistic about constructive dialogue with Trump. “We’d better meet and have a calm conversation based on today’s realities,” Putin said. He stressed the mutual interests of Russia and the US as major industrial and oil-producing countries.
He echoed US President Donald Trump’s claim that the Ukraine conflict could have been avoided had Trump been in the White House in 2022. In an interview with Russian state television, Putin described Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” focused on US interests.
Putin backs Trump’s fraud claims
“We always had a business-like, pragmatic and trusting relationship with the current US president,” Putin said, adding, “If they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.” This marked Putin’s strongest endorsement yet of Trump’s claims that the 2020 US election was fraudulent.
Trump has also repeatedly said that he would have prevented the conflict, despite tensions escalating in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv’s forces and Moscow-aligned separatists during his presidency, before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. On Thursday, Trump told Fox News that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should have negotiated with Putin to avert the war.
Putin criticises Zelenskyy
Putin criticised Zelenskyy’s 2022 decision to rule out talks with Moscow, calling it a barrier to diplomacy. “How is it possible to conduct talks if they are banned?” Putin said, saying any talks under the current framework would lack legitimacy. He spoke of Russia’s readiness for discussions with the US on various issues, including nuclear arms control, economic matters, and oil prices.
