Putin congratulates Trump ahead of inauguration

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated President-elect Trump ahead of his inauguration on Monday and said Moscow is open to dialogue with the new administration.

Speaking during a video call with Russia’s Security Council before Trump’s swearing in, Putin said he took note of Trump’s statements about restoring dialogue with Russia and blamed the outgoing Biden administration for harming the relationship with Moscow.

President Biden has held off direct talks with Putin following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, although some contacts have occurred between the Russian and U.S. side including a major prisoner exchange in August. The Pentagon and Russian Defense Ministry have at times communicated to avoid escalation.

"We also hear his [Trump’s] statement about the need to do everything to prevent a third world war. Of course, we welcome this attitude and congratulate the elected president of the United States of America on his inauguration," Putin said, according to the Russian State News Agency TASS.

Putin said Moscow is open to talks with the U.S. on the “Ukrainian conflict” and called for “eliminating the root causes of the crisis,” according to a statement his office posted on Telegram.

Russia frames its war of aggression against Ukraine as a defensive war against the collective democratic West, in particular against NATO.

Trump has made it a high priority of his incoming administration to halt the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, and has indicated a meeting with Putin could come soon after his return to the Oval Office.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's backers in Europe and Washington have warned against forcing a truce or settlement that leaves Ukraine vulnerable to any renewed aggression by Russia.

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