Vladimir Putin: “We may have quite a few common points with the current U.S. administration and we could jointly look for solutions to the key issues of today, including strategic stability and the economy”

President of Russia Vladimir Putin answered to questions from journalist Pavel Zarubin.

Pavel Zarubin: Mr President, newly inaugurated President Trump has made multiple statements about a possible meeting with you and prospects for a Ukrainian settlement. I would like to know what you think about this

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Indeed, the US President has made many statements to this effect.

My first point is that Russia has never turned down contacts with the US administration, and it is not our fault that the previous administration chose not to establish such contacts. I have always had business-like, strictly business-like, but at the same time pragmatic and trust-based, I would say, relationships with the current President of the United States.

I cannot but agree with him that if he had been President, if his victory had not been stolen from him in 2020, then maybe there would not have been the Ukraine crisis that broke out in 2022. However, it is a known fact that when he was the 45th President of the United States, he imposed a significant number, the largest number of restrictions, sanctions on Russia. I do not think that decision was in the best interests of Russia, or the United States. By the way, Biden picked up the baton and imposed even more restrictions on us. We are all aware of the results: a lot of those decisions were detrimental to the economy of the United States itself.

For example, the power of the US dollar was undermined, because Russia’s ban on using the US dollar is causing serious damage to the United States itself. We did not refuse to use the US dollar. The previous administration prevented us from using it as a unit of payment. But I will not go into that now. All I can say is that we hear the current President say he is ready to work together. We remain open to that.

Regarding talks about Ukraine, we have consistently made it clear, and I wish to underscore it one more time, we remain open to them. Here, too, certain matters need our particular attention.

For instance, it is well known that back when he was a fairly legitimate head of state, the current leader of the Kiev regime issued an executive order prohibiting talks. How can talks be resumed now that they have been outlawed?

This meeting is taking place in the building of Moscow University. As you may be aware, I am a trained lawyer. I graduated from the law department of St Petersburg University, formerly Leningrad University. I can tell you that if talks begin based on the existing legal framework, they would be, strictly speaking, illegitimate, meaning that the outcomes of such talks could likewise be declared illegitimate.

The current Kiev regime appears quite content to receive hundreds of billions from its benefactors and – excuse me for using this homely phrase – to pig out on this money like there is no tomorrow. However, it shows little haste in acting on the instructions issued by its sponsors – and we know that they have indeed issued such instructions – to rescind the executive order banning talks.

Nonetheless, I am of the opinion that, ultimately, those who provide the funding should compel him to act, and I believe he will have no choice but to comply. Until this executive order is rescinded, it is rather difficult to talk about starting and, more importantly, finishing these talks in a proper way. Preliminary plans may, indeed, be outlined, but engaging in serious talks remains a particularly difficult proposition, especially considering the ban imposed by the Ukrainian side.

Overall, we may have quite a few common points with the current administration and we could jointly look for solutions to the key issues of today, including strategic stability and the economy, by the way. Why? Just because we are among the world’s largest producers of, let’s say, oil; the United States is the leading producer followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

What makes the Russian and, let’s say, the US economy stand out? We are not just among the largest energy producers, we are also among the largest energy consumers, which means overly high prices are bad for both our economies, because energy is used to produce other goods inside the country. Overly low prices are bad, too, because they undermine the energy companies’ investment potential. We have things to discuss. There are other issues in the energy sector that may be of mutual interest.

By the way, in this sense, I doubt that the current US President, Mr Trump – to reiterate, we worked together when he was president the first time – will make any decisions, even though we hear words about the possibility of imposing more sanctions on Russia, I still doubt that he will make decisions that will be bad for the US economy. He is not just a smart person, but he is also a pragmatic person. And I have a hard time picturing him make decisions that will cause harm to the US economy.

So, indeed, it makes sense for us to meet based on the realities of today, to sit down and discuss without haste the areas that are of interest to the United States and Russia. We are ready to do that. But, again, this, first of all, depends on the decisions and choices of the current US administration.

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