Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a news conference in Kazakhstan following a regional security summit, expressed his belief on Thursday that Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, genuinely desires to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Putin acknowledged that while he takes Trump’s statements seriously, he remains uncertain about the specifics of Trump’s plans to achieve this goal if elected.
Putin stated, “The fact that Mr. Trump, as a presidential candidate, declares that he is ready and wants to stop the war in Ukraine, we take this completely seriously.” He emphasized, “I am not, of course, familiar with possible proposals for how he plans to do this. This is the key question. But I have no doubt that he means it sincerely, and we support it (the idea of ending the war).”
Regarding reports that Trump had discussed the possibility of allowing Russia to retain Crimea and parts of the Donbas region in exchange for peace, Putin noted that Trump’s campaign had not confirmed these discussions. He referred to a plan presented to Trump by his advisors, which involves conditioning increased U.S. military support for Ukraine on its participation in peace talks.
Putin previously stated that Russia would only consider ending the conflict if Ukraine abandoned its NATO aspirations and ceded control of disputed territories, terms Kyiv promptly rejected. He added that meaningful dialogue between Moscow and Washington during the U.S. election season was challenging, expressing a wait-and-see approach regarding the election outcome.
When asked about his impressions of the first televised debate between Trump and then-President Joe Biden, Putin mentioned having seen fragments and commented that he had other priorities to focus on.
Putin had previously expressed a preference for Biden over Trump as the future U.S. president for Russia’s interests, despite Biden’s critical remarks about him. Following the debate, Putin reiterated that his stance had not changed, emphasizing, “Nothing has changed. Did we not know what could come? We knew.”
Putin also briefly mentioned Biden’s debate performance, alluding to concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity becoming campaign issues.
Throughout the discussion, Putin acknowledged the significance of U.S. media coverage of the debate, recognizing the United States’ continued role as a global power.