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Russian President Vladimir Putin points during a meeting with foreign policy experts at the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Thursday. Maxim Shipenkov/Pool EPA via AP hide caption
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Maxim Shipenkov/Pool EPA via AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory, saying he is ready to engage with the incoming U.S. president.
The Kremlin leader made the remarks during a policy forum in Sochi, Russia, on Thursday. Answering questions at the end of a lengthy speech, Putin said he wanted to "take this opportunity to congratulate [Trump] on his election as president of the United States."
When asked by a forum moderator if he was ready for discussions with Trump, Putin responded: "We are ready."
Putin said he “didn’t know” what would come of Trump’s promise to negotiate a quick end to the war in Ukraine, but he suggested the U.S. president-elect's proposals are worth studying.
Trump has criticized the scale of U.S. aid to Ukraine — which has surpassed $100 billion since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — feeding fears in Kyiv and the European Union that Trump intends to impose peace largely on Moscow’s terms.
Putin also cautioned that “political forces” in Washington had blocked Trump from his pledges to improve relations with Moscow during his previous term.
