Puutin says Ukraine conflict could have been avoided had Trump been in office
The Hindu
Russian President Vladimir Putin echoes U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim the conflict in Ukraine could have been prevented had he been in the White House in 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday (January 24, 2025) echoed U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim the conflict in Ukraine could have been prevented had he been in the White House in 2022. He also said Moscow is ready for talks with the U.S. on a broad range of issues.
In an interview with Russian state television, Mr. Putin praised Mr. Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” who is focused on U.S. interests.
“We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current U.S. president,” Mr. Putin said. “I couldn’t disagree with him that if he had been President, if they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.”
Mr. Putin’s statement was his bluntest endorsement yet of Mr. Trump’s refusal to accept his defeat in the 2020 election.
Mr. Trump also has said repeatedly he wouldn’t have allowed the conflict to start if he had been in office, even though he was president as fighting grew in the east of the country between Kyiv’s forces and separatists aligned with Moscow, ahead of Mr. Putin sending in tens of thousands of troops in 2022.
On Thursday (January 23, 2025), Mr. Trump told Fox News that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should have made a deal with Mr. Putin to avoid the conflict.
Mr. Putin emphasised on Friday (January 24, 2025) that he’s open to talks but pointed to Mr. Zelenskyy’s 2022 decision to rule out negotiations with Moscow.
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