Moscow (AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that his country takes “very seriously” statements made by Donald Trump in which he repeatedly declared that he would quickly end the conflict between Kiev and Moscow if he is re-elected as US president.
“Mr. Trump, as a presidential candidate, said he was ready and willing to stop the war in Ukraine. We take this very seriously,” Putin said at a news conference on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana.
“Of course, I don’t know his possible proposals on how he wants to do it. And of course, this is a key question. But I have no doubt that he says it sincerely. And we support that,” Putin stressed.
Putin’s comments come as a NATO summit in Washington approaches in less than a week, where Ukraine will be a focus.
The possibility of Trump winning the US elections this fall raises doubts about continued US support for Kiev.
Putin confirmed yesterday that Moscow is awaiting the results of the US presidential elections.
On June 14, Putin announced his readiness to negotiate with Ukraine if it withdrew its forces from four regions claimed by Moscow and abandoned its bid to join NATO, downplaying the importance of a peace summit in Switzerland to which his country was not invited.
Putin said yesterday that he watched excerpts from the debate between US President Joe Biden and his rival Donald Trump, but his preference for Biden as US president has not changed.
Asked by a state television reporter whether Biden or Trump performed better, whether his stated preference for Biden changed after the debate and whether he had watched it, Putin said, “Nothing has changed.”
Putin has said on several occasions that he feels Biden is the best candidate to be the next US president. Putin explained that he watched parts of the debate between Biden and Trump but had other things to attend to.
“I saw some excerpts,” Putin said, “but I have enough work to do.”
Putin said he did not care about biased media reports about the debate but could not ignore them because the United States was still a superpower.
Asked about Trump’s comments that he might quickly end the Ukraine war if he won the presidential election, Putin said Russia took his words seriously but had no idea about the details of Trump’s peace proposals.
“I’m not, of course, aware of the possible proposals as to how he intends to do that. That’s the important question. But I have no doubt that he means it sincerely, and we support that,” he said.
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