Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in the U.S. presidential election. He made this statement in response to questions at the Valdai International Discussion Club meeting in Sochi.
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"At first, everyone said he was a businessman who would know little about politics and might make mistakes. But I must say, his behavior when there was an attempt on his life impressed me. He turned out to be a brave man. People reveal their character in extraordinary circumstances, and in my opinion, he demonstrated himself admirably - bravely, as a man should.
I don’t know what will happen now; I have no idea. His term has just begun, and what he will do is up to him. However, his stated desire to restore relations with Russia and end the crisis in Ukraine, in my view, at least deserves attention.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as President of the United States. As I’ve said before, we will work with any head of state whom the American people trust. This will certainly be the case in practice," Putin said.
When asked what he would do if Trump called him before the inauguration to request a meeting, the Russian president responded:
“You know, I don’t think it would be shameful for me to call. I’m not refraining from doing so because Western leaders used to call me almost weekly at one point and then suddenly stopped. If they don’t want it, they don’t want it. As you can see, we are alive, healthy, developing, and moving forward. If any of them wants to renew contact, as I have always said - and I will say it again - we have nothing against it. We are open to resuming contact and holding discussions.”
Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate, won the U.S. presidential election, securing 295 Electoral College votes, while his Democratic opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, gathered 226 votes. A minimum of 270 votes was needed to win.
Following his victory, Trump mentioned that he had spoken with “probably” 70 world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but had yet to speak with Vladimir Putin. “I think we’ll talk,” Trump added.
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly stated that he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours.
The inauguration of America’s 47th president will take place on January 20.
