Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday (4) he believes Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is sincere in wanting to end the war in Ukraine, but he does not know how Trump plans to do so if he is elected president of the United States.
Putin, speaking at a news conference in Kazakhstan at the end of a regional security conference, commented after being asked about Trump’s statements that he could end the war in Ukraine quickly if he wins the race for the White House on November 5.
“The fact that Mr. Trump, as a presidential candidate, declares that he is ready and wants to end the war in Ukraine, we take this completely seriously,” Putin said.
“Of course I am not familiar with possible proposals on how he plans to do this. That is the fundamental question. But I have no doubt that he is serious, and we support it (the idea of ending the war).”
The Washington Post reported in April that Trump had privately discussed the option of allowing Putin to keep Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and the Donbas region — which Russian forces partially control — in exchange for peace. Trump’s campaign, however, did not confirm the remarks.
Two top aides to the Republican have presented him with a plan to end the war that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more weapons from the United States if it enters into peace talks, Reuters reported last month.
Putin said in June that Russia would only end the war if Kiev agreed to abandon its NATO ambitions and hand over all four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kiev quickly rejected.
Putin said constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington was impossible during the heated US presidential election campaign and that Russians would wait for the outcome of the election.
Asked whether Biden or Trump was better, whether his publicly stated preference for Biden had changed after the debate and whether he had seen him, Putin said:
“Nothing changed.”
“We didn’t know what could happen? We knew,” Putin added.
Putin has said repeatedly that he thinks Biden is preferable as a future US president to Trump, even after Biden called the Kremlin chief “crazy.”
Putin said he watched parts of the debate between Biden and Trump but had other things to do.
“I saw some fragments,” Putin said. “But I have a lot to do.”
Biden, 81, gave a shaky performance during the debate, raising questions about his age and mental fitness for the campaign trail.
Putin said he paid little attention to biased media reporting on the debate, although he could not ignore it as the United States remains a great power.
Source: CNN Brasil
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