Vladimir Putin today declared that the war in Ukraine could have been averted had Donald Trump not been ‘robbed of the election‘ in 2020.
Describing his armed forces’ full-scale invasion of their neighbour in February 2022 as a ‘crisis’, Putin told state media the horrific bloodshed that has blighted eastern Europe for almost three years would not have happened under a Trump presidency.
‘I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president, if his victory had not been stolen from him in 2020, then perhaps there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that arose in 2022,’ the Russian president said.
His comments came as part of a wide-ranging interview in which the Kremlin chief heaped praise on the newly inaugurated US president, labelling Trump ‘smart and pragmatic’ while also signalling a willingness to approach the negotiating table over Ukraine.
‘He is not only a smart person, but a pragmatic person,’ Putin told state media of his American counterpart.
‘I have a hard time imagining there will be decisions taken that are detrimental to the American economy.
‘As for the issue of negotiations… we have always said, and I want to emphasise this once again, that we are ready for these negotiations on Ukrainian issues.’
But Putin’s statement belies comments made by his own Foreign Ministry just hours ago which railed against the ongoing supply of Western arms to Ukraine’s armed forces and what it called the ‘illegitimate Kyiv regime’.
(FILES) Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and US President Donald Trump are pictured before a meeting in Helsinki
Russian President Vladimir Putin described Trump as ‘pragmatic and smart’ in comments to state media today
President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington
‘Despite the increasingly loud talk about the need for peace talks, no practical actions indicating a real readiness for them on the part of Kyiv and the West are objectively observed,’ the statement read.
‘The issue of the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government is not being resolved.’