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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US election, praised him for showing courage when a gunman tried to assassinate him, and said Moscow was ready for dialogue with the Republican president-elect.
In his first public remarks since Mr Trump's win, Mr Putin said the president-elect had acted like a real man during an assassination attempt on him while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July.
“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way, courageously, like a real man,” Mr Putin said at the Valdai discussion club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, according to Reuters. “I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election.”
Mr Trump later said Mr Putin wasn’t among the “probably” 70 phone conversations he has held with world leaders since winning the election, but that he still is planning to speak with the Russian president.
“I think we’ll speak,” Mr Trump told NBC News.
Mr Putin said remarks Mr Trump made during the election campaign about Ukraine and restoring relations with Russia deserved attention.
“What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion this deserves attention at least,” said Mr Putin.
Mr Trump said during campaigning that he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours if elected, but has given few details on how he would seek to end the biggest land war in Europe since the Second World War.
Ahead of a widely expected pivot in US policy towards Ukraine, the outgoing Biden administration is rushing to get already-authorised military aid to Kyiv before president-elect Trump returns to the White House on January 20.