Washington:
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to talk to his American counterpart Donald Trump, but he is waiting for Trump’s reaction. This statement came on Friday, due to which expectations have increased. According to the Kremlin, a meeting between the two may happen soon. The Ukraine conflict has pushed relations between the two nuclear powers to their lowest level since the Cold War, with Trump repeatedly promising to end the fighting with a “deal.” He told reporters Thursday that he would meet Putin “immediately,” and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted to talk. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of Trump’s proposals, “Putin is ready. We are waiting for his signals.”
What did Trump say?
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he wants to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as possible to end the war with Ukraine. He also claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready for a deal to end the war. This comment of Trump is quite different from his previous statement. Earlier this week, he threatened to impose “high level” sanctions on Russia and tariffs on imports from there if Moscow does not reach a deal.
- Before winning the election on November 5, Trump claimed several times that he would reach an agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the very first day. However, his advisors now believe that it will take months to resolve the war.
- According to media reports, Trump, while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos via video link, said, “I would really like to meet President Putin soon so that the war can end.”
- And I am not saying this from the perspective of economy or anything else. I say this from the perspective that the lives of millions of people are being ruined… this is a genocide. And we really have to stop the war.”
What did Trump say?
Later, speaking at the White House, Trump told the media that he was ready to meet Putin as soon as possible to end this ridiculous war.
Trump said, “According to what I’ve heard, Putin would like to meet with me.” He claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had told him he was ready to make a deal to end the war.
Trump told participants in Davos that the US efforts for a peace deal now continue with optimism, although he did not give any details. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
What did Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov say?
Peskov said he could not comment further on a possible meeting between the leaders, as it is “difficult” to predict the future. Trump has threatened Russia with tough economic sanctions if it does not agree to end its nearly three-year aggressive campaign. “If they don’t resolve this war soon, I will impose heavy tariffs, heavy taxes and heavy sanctions on Russia,” the Republican said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
Russia’s response to claims of increasing tariffs
The Kremlin rejected Trump’s claim that the conflict in Ukraine could be ended by lowering the price of oil used to fund Moscow’s budget, saying: “This conflict does not depend on oil prices.”Thursday. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices, saying: “If prices went down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately. “Peskov said That the conflict was based on “threats to Russia’s national security”, “threats to Russians living in Ukraine” and “the lack of willingness and complete refusal of Americans and Europeans to listen to Russia’s concerns”.
What has happened so far?
Russian airstrikes near Kiev killed three people and wounded several others, Ukrainian officials said Friday, as Ukraine fired 120 drones at at least 12 Russian regions, including the capital Moscow.
The Kremlin has launched drone or missile attacks on Kiev almost every day since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, apparently targeting military and energy facilities. “Three people were killed in an enemy attack in the Kiev region,” emergency services said in a statement on social media.
- It said fragments of the drone had fallen on a 10-storey residential building, while the area chief said a private house had also been hit.
- Official photos from the scene showed black smoke billowing from a residential building damaged in the attack as rescue workers pulled out the bodies of victims.
- In Russia, the Ukrainian military said it carried out drone strikes overnight on an oil refinery, power station facilities and an electronics plant.
- State media reported that a microelectronics factory had halted work after six Ukrainian drones damaged production and storage facilities in the Bryansk region.
- Both Moscow and Kiev are vying for leverage ahead of possible talks in the early days of the Trump administration.
Before his inauguration, Trump had vowed to end the Ukraine conflict immediately after taking office, raising concerns in Ukraine that he would be forced to make major territorial concessions to Russia. Moscow has been advancing on the battlefield for several months, getting closer to the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. On Friday, Russia said its forces had captured the village of Timofeevka, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the major industrial hub.