Vladimir Putin says 'ready' for talks with Donald Trump on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday praised Donald Trump as "pragmatic" and "smart"

Fuelling expectations of contact with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the Ukraine conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said that he was ready for talks with US President Donald Trump on the Ukraine conflict

"As for the issue of negotiations.we have always said, and I want to emphasise this once again, that we are ready for these negotiations on Ukrainian issues," Putin told a reporter from Russian state TV, as reported by news agency AFP

Vladimir Putin also praised Donald Trump as "pragmatic" and "smart", saying he did not believe the US president would force global oil prices lower in a bid to damage Moscow.

"He is not only a smart person, but a pragmatic person," Putin told state media. He said oil prices that were either "too high or "too low" were bad for both the Russian and American economies, adding: "I have a hard time imagining there will be decisions taken that are detrimental to the American economy."

Vladimir Putin also said that the 2022 "crisis in Ukraine" -- a reference to Moscow's full-scale military offensive -- might have been averted had Donald Trump been US president at the time.

"I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president -- if his victory hadn't been stolen in 2020 -- then maybe there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that emerged in 2022," Putin told a state TV reporter, as reported by AFP.

No Putin-Trump peace talks without Europe, Ukraine: Kyiv

Kyiv on Friday warned against negotiations on the war in Ukraine between the US and Russia without including it and Europe, after Russian leader Vladimir Putin said he was ready for talks with Donald Trump.

"He (Putin) wants to negotiate the fate of Europe -- without Europe. And he wants to talk about Ukraine without Ukraine," the head of Ukraine's presidential office Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.

"This is not going to happen. Putin needs to come back to reality, or he will be brought back. This is not how it works in the modern world."