Putin has no plans to congratulate Trump, Kremlin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to congratulate former President Trump on his election night victory, the Kremlin said Wednesday amid speculation the Republican president-elect will have closer relations with Moscow.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said at a Wednesday briefing that he was not aware of any plans to congratulate Trump and made clear that relations with the U.S. were at a historic low.

"It is practically impossible to make relations between the United States and Russia any worse as they are already at their lowest point in history," Peskov said, according to Russian state-run media outlet TASS.

However, Peskov said the next administration has the chance to change its position on dialogue with Russia.

"President Putin has repeatedly said that he is open to a constructive dialogue based on justice, equality, and mutual respect for each other’s concerns. And President Putin remains committed to this position and has reiterated it multiple times," Peskov added. "But today, the U.S. administration holds a contrary position. Let’s wait and see what happens in January,"

Trump has pledged to end the war in Ukraine by the time he takes office Jan. 20, a move that may involve ceding territory to Russia, which has taken swaths of eastern Ukrainian territory in the nearly three-year-old war.

The U.S. under President Biden has supported Kyiv with advanced weapons to defend against the Russian invasion, but Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the "greatest salesman" for his ability to win billions of dollars in aid from Washington and expressed doubt about supporting a war that has destroyed parts of Ukraine.

Trump has also made remarks praising Putin, including calling him a "genius" after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump also reportedly called the Russian president seven times since he left the White House in January 2021 and sent him COVID-19 test kits during his last year in office in 2020.

Zelensky, who met with Trump in September, congratulated the president-elect shortly after he secured enough Electoral College votes in the presidential election against Vice President Harris early Wednesday morning.

At the September meeting, Trump had said when he wins the election, he would "resolve" the war "very quickly" and touted his relations with Putin and Russia.

Zelensky, in his congratulatory message on social media, said he hopes "Trump’s commitment to the 'peace through strength' approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together."