MOSCOW: Russia welcomes US President-elect Donald Trump’s declared willingness to resolve issues through dialogue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, reaffirming Russian President Vladimir Putin’s readiness to negotiate with Trump. After Trump is sworn in on January 20, there may be progress on arranging a meeting between Trump and Putin, Peskov told reporters. Trump said Thursday that a meeting between him and Putin was imminent, but offered no timetable. Trump repeatedly said during his campaign that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours, but he and his advisers recently suggested it could be resolved within months of taking office. His early return to the White House raised hopes for a diplomatic solution, but also led to fears in Kiev that a quick peace deal could come at a high price for Ukraine. Peskov said Putin has repeatedly expressed his willingness to negotiate with international leaders, including Trump. “No conditions are required for this, (only) mutual will and political will to conduct dialogue and solve existing problems through dialogue,” he said. “We see that even Mr. Trump declares his readiness to solve problems through dialogue, we welcome that.” Peskov said there were no concrete plans for a meeting yet, but that Russia was working on the assumption that both sides were open to it. “It looks like there will be some movement after Mr. Trump enters the Oval Office. Trump said Thursday: “President Putin wants to meet. He has said so publicly and we have to get this war over with. It’s a bloody mess.” Trump advisers have floated proposals to end the war that would effectively cede large swaths of the country to Russia for the foreseeable future. Peskov said Russia’s position is consistent with what Putin expressed last June. Putin said at the time that Russia was willing to end the war if Ukraine renounced its ambitions for NATO membership and completely withdrew from four regions that Russia partially controls and has claimed as its own. Kyiv rejected this as the equivalent of capitulation. While speaking positively of Trump, Peskov was highly critical of outgoing President Joe Biden. He said the Biden administration in the last 10 days “intends to continue to do everything to continue the war,” including possible new sanctions against Russia. “We are aware that the administration will certainly try to leave the incoming Trump and his associates the most difficult legacy in terms of bilateral relations,” Peskov said.
