Putin congratulates Trump on inauguration and says Moscow is ready for dialogue
In a video from a Russian Security Council meeting published by the Kremlin on Monday, Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his inauguration as U.S. president and said that Moscow is ready to engage in dialogue with Washington regarding the war in Ukraine.
“We see the statements of the newly elected U.S. president and members of his team expressing a desire to restore direct contacts with Russia — contacts broken by the outgoing administration and by no fault of ours. We also hear his statements about the need to do everything possible to prevent a third world war. Undoubtedly, we welcome this attitude and congratulate the elected president of the United States on his inauguration,” Putin said.
The Russian president went on to say that Moscow has never rejected dialogue with Washington and has always been ready to maintain “equal cooperative relations with any American administration.” He added that he believes dialogue between Russia and the U.S. should be based “on an equal and mutually respectful foundation.”
We are also open to dialogue with the new U.S. administration on the Ukrainian conflict. The most important thing is to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, which we have repeatedly discussed. The goal of the settlement should not be a brief ceasefire, nor a pause for regrouping forces and rearming with the aim of continuing the conflict later, but a long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people, all peoples, living in this region.
