Global Upfront Newspapers
AmericaCoverNewsPolitics

Putin Praises ‘Courageous’ Trump, Signals Willingness To Discuss Ukraine

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on his US election win.
  • Putin said Trump had acted “courageously” after an assassination attempt earlier this year.
  • Trump said last year that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would not have happened if he had been president at the time

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on winning the 2024 US election, praised him for showing courage when a gunman tried to assassinate him, and said Russia was ready for dialogue with the Republican president-elect.

In his first public remarks since Trump’s win, Putin said on Thursday (local time) that Trump had acted like a “real man” during an assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on 14 July.

“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way, courageously, like a real man,” Putin said at the Valdai Discussion Club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

“I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election.”

Putin said Trump had been “hounded by all sides” in the tumultuous presidential election campaign but said Trump’s remarks about Ukraine and restoring relations with Russia deserved attention.

“What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, this deserves attention at least,” he said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022. Since then, the United States has provided US$64 billion ($96 billion) in military aid, and US President Joe Biden has called Putin a “murderous dictator” and a “thug”.

Vladimir Putin (left) and Donald Trump shaking hands.

Vladimir Putin said he was ready to resume contact if the Trump administration wished to and was open to discussions with Donald Trump. Source: AAP / Susan Walsh/AP

Trump said during campaigning last year that Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if he had been president at the time, and insisted he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours if he were elected.

Trump has given few details on how he would seek to end the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two.

During his speech, Putin gave just one note of caution: “I do not know what is going to happen now. I have no clue.”

When pressed by a questioner what he would do if Trump called to suggest a meeting, Putin said he was ready to resume contact if the Trump administration wanted to and was ready for discussion with Trump.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Russia’s leadership remembered Trump’s words about trying to resolve the Ukraine crisis even if he exaggerated the speed at which he could do it.

Asked about Kamala Harris’s warning that Putin would eat Trump for lunch, Peskov said with a chuckle: “Putin does not eat people.”

Zelenskyy congratulates Trump but unaware of plans to end war

Earlier in the week, following Trump’s election win, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he “appreciated President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs”.

“This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer.”

Zelenskyy has since told reporters that while he believed Trump wanted to end the war with Russia quickly, he had not discussed a plan with him.

“If it’s just fast, it means losses for Ukraine. I just don’t yet understand how this could be in any other way. Maybe we do not know something, do not see,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Budapest on Thursday, where he attended the European Political Community summit.

@SBS News (Special Broadcasting Service)

Advertize With Us

See Also

EFCC Arrests Twins, 26 Others for Alleged Internet Fraud in Calabar

Global Upfront

Zelensky Hosts African Journalists, Says Ukraine Can Only Rest Once It Has Expelled Russia From Occupied Territories

Global Upfront

National Peace Committee, APC Must Rein In Kashim Shettima Over Unguarded, Irresponsible Attacks On Peter Obi – Doyin Okupe

Global Upfront

MNJTF decorates 24 military officers for gallantry in Lake Chad Basin battle against Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists

Global Upfront

IPOB says 21 members killed, 47 arrested by security agencies in violent clash in Emene, Enugu State

Global Upfront

UK based Nigerian nurse dies of COVID-19, sister on ventilator

Global Upfront

DHQ: Troops Kill 2,245 Terrorists, Arrest 3,682 In 3 Months, Pledges “To Wipe Out Terrorists Through Synchronised Ground And Air Operations”

Global Upfront

Nigerian-born Man Utd Security Guard Sacked For Watching TV In Directors Box And Napping In Control Room While On Duty Loses Claim For Unfair Dismissal And Race Discrimination

Global Upfront

Ondo State govt mourns Health Commissioner, Adegbenro, who died of COVID-19 complications

Global Upfront

Update: Third Federal Government Agency building on Fire in 10 days

Global Upfront

This website uses Cookies to improve User experience. We assume this is OK...If not, please opt-out! Accept Read More