If Donald Trump had been reelected as US president in 2020, the Ukraine crisis that erupted in 2022 might not have occurred, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
In an interview with the Russian Rossiya 1 TV channel on Friday, Putin said that Russia remains open to peace talks on the Ukraine war.
He said that Moscow has never rejected contact with the US administration but the previous one opted not to pursue such engagement.
About his relationship with Trump, Putin said it was “strictly business-like, yet pragmatic and trust-based,” adding “I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president, if his victory had not been stolen from him in 2020, then maybe there would not have been the Ukraine crisis that broke out in 2022.”
He pointed out that Trump in his previous term imposed a significant number of sanctions on Russia.
“I do not think that decision was in the best interests of Russia, or the US. By the way, (Joe) Biden picked up the baton and imposed even more restrictions on us. We are all aware of the results-a lot of those decisions were detrimental to the economy of the US itself,” Putin said.
The dollar’s position as a global currency weakened following Washington’s decision to prevent Russia from using it as a unit of payment, Putin said.
“We did not refuse to use the US dollar. The previous administration prevented us from using it as a unit of payment. But I will not go into that now. All I can say is that we hear the current president say he is ready to work together. We remain open to that,” he stressed.
On Ukraine, Putin emphasized that Russia has consistently demonstrated a readiness for dialogue, but certain obstacles remain.
“For instance, it is well known that back when he was a fairly legitimate head of state, the current leader of the Kyiv regime issued an executive order prohibiting talks. How can talks be resumed now that they have been outlawed?” he asked.
“The current Kyiv regime appears quite content to receive hundreds of billions from its benefactors and-excuse me for using this homely phrase-to pig out on this money like there is no tomorrow,” Putin added.
The Russian president urged Ukraine’s financial backers to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to act. “I believe he will have no choice but to comply.”
“Until this executive order is rescinded, it is rather difficult to talk about starting and, more importantly, finishing these talks in a proper way. Preliminary plans may, indeed, be outlined, but engaging in serious talks remains a particularly difficult proposition, especially considering the ban imposed by the Ukrainian side,” he said.
Despite these challenges, Putin expressed hope for constructive engagement between Russia and the US on several shared concerns, including strategic stability, economic matters, and energy production.
“We are not just among the largest energy producers, we are also among the largest energy consumers, which means overly high prices are bad for both our economies, because energy is used to produce other goods inside the country. Overly low prices are bad, too, because they undermine the energy companies’ investment potential. We have things to discuss. There are other issues in the energy sector that may be of mutual interest,” Putin stated.
Putin also expressed skepticism about Trump’s threats regarding additional sanctions on Russia, doubting that Trump would take measures detrimental to the US economy.
“It makes sense for us to meet based on the realities of today, to sit down and discuss without haste the areas that are of interest to the US and Russia. We are ready to do that. But, again, this, first of all, depends on the decisions and choices of the current US administration,” he concluded.