"Open to dialogue with new US administration about Ukraine conflict": Putin ahead of Trump's inauguration

Moscow [Russia], January 20 (ANI): Ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to hold communication with the incoming US administration about the Ukraine conflict and called elimination of the root cause of the crisis as the "most important thing," TASS reported.
He made the remarks during the meeting of Russia's Security Council. "We are also open to dialogue with the new US administration about the Ukrainian conflict. The most important thing there is to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, which we have talked about many times. This is the most essential thing," TASS quoted Putin as saying.
Donald Trump has pledged to bring an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine which has been ongoing since February 2022, halt the chaos in the Middle East, and take measures to prevent the outbreak of World War 3.
"I will end the war in Ukraine, I will stop the chaos in the Middle East and I will prevent World War 3 from happening - and you have no idea how close we are," he said in his MAGA Victory Rally on Sunday.
Notably, US has been providing military assistance to Ukraine ever since the war between Moscow and Kyiv started in 2022. US has also been imposing sanctions against Russia for launching war against Ukraine.
Earlier in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to normalise relations with the United States and other Western countries provided that such efforts do not compromise Russian interests, the state media reported.
In an interview with Russian TV and radio outlet VGTRK, Putin said, "It is possible to do everything if there is desire. We have never abandoned this desire." The Russian President was responding to a question about the possibility for Russia and the United States to normalise their relations, as reported by the Russian news agency TASS.
He stressed that everything changes in international relations and only interests remain invariable, in this case, "the interests of Russia and its people."
"If we see that the situation changes in a way that there are opportunities and prospects for building relations with other countries, then we are ready for that. It is not a question of us but it's a question of them. But this should be without detriment to the interests of the Russian Federation," Putin emphasised.
During his visit to Paris to attend the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in December. Trump held a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. It was Trump's first meeting with Zelenskyy after he won elections in November.
After the meeting, Trump shared a post on Truth Social calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate the war's end and even added that China can help. He even mentioned that Russia is in a "weakened state right now" partly due to "Ukraine and a bad economy."
Taking to social media platform Truth Social, Trump said, "Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever."
"Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting," he added. (ANI)