Putin congratulates Trump on poll victory, says Russia ready for talks

Russia's President Vladimir Putin with Donald Trump during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017-REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory  and called him a "courageous man".

He praised the Trump's courage during the July assassination attempt.

“His behaviour at the moment of an attempt on his life left an impression on me. He turned out to be a brave man," Putin said at an international forum following a speech in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. "He manifested himself in the very correct way, bravely as a man,” he added.

Putin also said that what Trump has said “about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, deserves attention at least.” The Kremlin earlier welcomed Trump's claim that he could negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine “in 24 hours” but emphasised that it will wait for concrete policy steps.

"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as president of the United States of America,” Putin said in a question-and-answer session at the conference.

As to what he expects from a second Trump administration, Putin said, “I don't know what will happen now. I have no idea.” "For him, this is still his last presidential term. What he will do is his matter,” Putin said.

When pressed by a questioner what he would do if Trump called to suggest a meeting, Putin said he was ready to resume contacts if a Trump administration wanted that, and was ready for discussions with Trump.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the Kremlin is not ruling out the possibility of contact between Putin and Trump before the inauguration, given that Trump “said he would call Putin before the inauguration.”

Peskov has emphasised that Moscow views the US as an “unfriendly” country that is directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict. He dismissed arguments that Putin's failure to reach out quickly to Trump could hurt future ties, saying that Moscow's relations with Washington already are at the “lowest point in history” and arguing that it will be up to the new US leadership to change the situation.

Kremlin's cautious stand reflected its view of the US vote as a choice between two unappealing possibilities. While Trump is known for his admiration of Putin, the Russian leader has repeatedly noted that during Trump's first term, there were “so many restrictions and sanctions against Russia like no other president has ever introduced before him.”