Vladimir Putin said he was ready to meet US President-elect Donald Trump "at any time" amid speculation over the launch of a possible peace process over Ukraine.
"I don't know when I will meet him. He's not saying anything about that. I haven't spoken to him in over four years. I am ready to do it, of course. Any time," the Russian president stated at his annual press conference in Moscow.
"And I will also be ready to meet him if he wishes," he added, as quoted by AFP.
"If we ever meet President-elect Trump, I am sure we will have a lot to talk about," he said.
On December 16, Donald Trump indicated that he wanted to talk to Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop the "carnage" of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Trump, who is due to take office in January, promised during his election campaign to end the war quickly and has already called for an "immediate ceasefire" and negotiations, so Europeans and Ukrainians fear he could force Kiev to make major concessions and hand the Kremlin a geopolitical victory.
The president-elect explained that Ukraine "probably" should expect less help from Washington and opposed Kiev using Western missiles to strike Russia.
For his part, Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that he is ready for negotiations with Ukraine, provided they are based on the "realities on the ground", where Russian forces have had the upper hand since the beginning of the year.
Specifically, Russia is demanding that Ukraine cede to it four regions it partially occupies - Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and Zaporizhzhya and Kherson in the south - in addition to the one it annexed in 2014. It also wants Kiev to give up its ambition to join NATO.
Volodymyr Zelensky has long been adamantly opposed to any concessions, but in recent months has softened his stance in the face of his army's difficulties on the front line and fears of weakening Western aid.
From Brussels today, he urged Europeans not to abandon his country and to show unity, including with the United States, just weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House. | BGNES
