(Finance) – Il Russian President Vladimir Putin declared himself to be available for direct negotiations with Donald Trump on Ukrainepraising the former American president for his “intelligence” and underlining a relationship based on pragmatism and trust. According to Putin, if Trump had been re-elected in 2020, the conflict in Ukraine could have been avoidedfurther charging that Trump had his “victory stolen” in that year’s presidential election.
Confirmation comes from the Kremlin: “Putin is ready” and awaits “signals” from the United Statesas stated by spokesman Dmitri Peskov, who rejected Trump’s claims that the conflict was linked to oil prices. Peskov reiterated that the war instead depends on Russian concerns for national security and the perception of threats towards Russians in the disputed territories.
The Russian Foreign Ministry added that relations with Italy are at an all-time low since World War II, charging Rome of being responsible for a crisis that would prevent Italian involvement in the peace process. Moscow also continues to believe that neither Ukraine nor the West are serious about negotiating.
The Ukrainian presidency reacted with firmness to Putin’s statementsrejecting the idea of negotiations between the Russian leader and Trump without the direct involvement of Ukraine and Europe. Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, wrote on Telegram: “Putin wants to negotiate the fate of Europe without Europe and Ukraine without Ukraine. This will not happen.”