“We really should meet,” Putin says as Trump threatens new sanctions over Ukraine

Jan 25, 2025 - 04:00

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss matters of “mutual interest” between Russia and the United States.

Earlier, Trump warned Putin to end the war in Ukraine or face “taxes, tariffs, and sanctions.” His team is currently arranging meetings with both Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, with the latter’s office confirming preparations are underway.

“Really, it would be better for us to meet, based on today’s realities, and have a calm discussion about all areas of interest to both the US and Russia. We are ready,” Putin said in an interview with state-run Rossiya-1.

In the same interview aired on Friday, Putin remarked that his relationship with Trump had always been “exclusively professional, pragmatic, and based on mutual trust.”

“I cannot disagree with him that, if he had been president—if his 2020 victory had not been stolen—then perhaps the crisis in Ukraine that unfolded in 2022 would not have occurred,” Putin said.

Following Joe Biden’s victory in November 2020, Trump has repeatedly claimed the election was “stolen” through fraud, though his legal challenges to contest Biden’s victory were unsuccessful.

Putin described Trump as “not only intelligent but also a pragmatic person” who, in his view, would avoid imposing sanctions that harm the US economy.

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