Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Friday that if Donald Trump had been president of the United States at the time, the 2022 “crisis in Ukraine”—a reference to Moscow’s full-scale military offensive—might have been avoided.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that if Donald Trump had been elected president of the United States in 2020, the current conflict in Ukraine might never have occurred. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked the conflict, which Putin referred to as a “crisis” and connected to the “stolen” 2020 election.
According to The Daily Mail, Putin told Russian state media, “I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president, if his victory had not been stolen from him in 2020, perhaps there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that arose in 2022.”
Putin commends Trump According to Putin, Trump is not only a “smart person” but also “pragmatic.” The Russian leader made a suggestion that this kind of pragmatism could have prevented the conflict by opening the door for amicable talks. He also stressed that Russia is still amenable to negotiations, especially with the US.
Regarding the topic of negotiations, Putin stated, “We have always stated, and I want to reiterate this, that we are prepared for these negotiations on Ukrainian issues.” In keeping with his confidence in Trump’s capacity to do deals, he emphasised that any agreement would have to be in line with US economic interests.
Moscow’s mixed messages
The Russian Foreign Ministry released a starkly different statement that same day in spite of Putin’s comments. Accusing Western countries of providing Ukraine with weapons, the ministry denounced Kyiv’s government as a “illegitimate regime.”
The ministry said, “Despite the increasingly loud talk about the need for peace talks, no practical actions indicating a real readiness for them on the part of Kyiv and the West are objectively observed.”
“The issue of the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government is not being resolved,” it added. Ukraine quickly responded to Putin’s remarks by saying, “No peace talks without Europe.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office rejected the idea of peace talks involving only Putin and Trump, insisting that European representatives must be included in any negotiations.
The declaration was made as tensions remain high and there are no indications that the war will end. Former President Trump, who has stated time and time again that if reelected, he could end the war in 24 hours, is being closely watched by observers. On the campaign trail and during Biden’s administration, Trump threatened to impose strong penalties on Russia while expanding weaponry shipments to Ukraine to achieve a compromise.