US President-elect Donald Trump's plan of "ending the war" in Russia – a key promise made during his election campaign – has got a major boost with the Russian President Vladmir Putin praising him as "intelligent" and "experienced" leader.
As he was winding up his state visit to Kazakhstan on Thursday, Putin was asked if the outgoing Biden administration's authorization to hit Russia with ATACMS affect the ability to establish contacts with a future Trump administration?
"It is possible that the current administration wants to create additional difficulties for the future one. This is also possible. But, as far as I can imagine, the newly elected president is an intelligent and already quite experienced person, and I think he will find a solution, especially after he has gone through such a serious test as the fight to return to the White House," said the Russian President.
Asserting that Moscow is ready for dialogue with the United States, including with the future administration, Putin on Thursday spotlighted Trump's struggles before his landmark election triumph, earlier this month.
"You know, I think that you were also most struck not by the fact that absolutely uncivilized means of struggle were used against Trump, absolutely uncivilized, up to and including attempted murder, and more than once… By the way, in my opinion, he is not safe now. There have been all sorts of different cases in the history of the United States.". I think that he is an intelligent person and, I hope, cautious, he understands all this.
"But I was more struck by the fact that during the attacks on him, during the fight against him, not only was he subjected to humiliating, unfounded procedures, legal charges, and so on, but attacks were carried out on members of his family, on his children," said Putin.
Analysts believe that there is some softening in Russia's stance towards Washington in the past few weeks even though the Kremlin had emphasized that it will interact with the new administration, when it comes to the White House, while firmly upholding the country's national interests and working to "achieve all the goals" of its special military operation in Ukraine.
Moscow announced that it would conduct cooperation with the new US administration firmly while protecting its national interests.
"We have no illusions concerning the President-elect who is well known in Russia or a new Congress, reportedly elected by Republicans. The ruling political elite in the United States follows anti-Russia principles and the policy of "containment" of Moscow.
This line does not depend on changes in America's domestic political barometer, no matter if it is Trump and his supporters' 'America above all' or the Democrats' focus on a 'rules-based world order', the Russian Foreign Ministry said in its first reaction after Trump's election triumph on November 6.
Just a few days later, Russia had rejected the US media reports which claimed that the US President-elect and Putin spoke over phone after the former's win in the presidential election.
"There was no conversation… This is completely untrue, it is pure fiction," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had told reporters in Moscow on November 11.
The leading US media publication report had claimed that, in the phone call, Trump had urged Putin to not escalate the raging war in Ukraine.
This report further stated that the conversation revealed Trump's eagerness to further discuss Moscow to ease the tension and help resolve the war that began last February 2022.
The report cited that Trump underscored the importance of the significant US military presence in Europe, implying that he would use American leverage to influence the settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
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