Putin and Trump say they are ready to talk

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump indicated that they were ready to hold talks after the Republican ­tycoon won this week’s election.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin talks about Donald Trump in Sochi on Thursday. Picture: AFP

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump indicated overnight on Thursday that they were ready to hold talks after the Republican ­tycoon emerged as the victor in the race for the White House.

“I take this opportunity to congratulate him,” Putin said in ­remarks to a forum in the southern city of Sochi.

Asked whether he was open to holding talks with Mr Trump, the Russian leader said: “Ready”.

Mr Trump revealed he was also prepared for some kind of conversation, telling NBC News that “I think we’ll speak” as the topic turned to his contacts with world leaders since his victory.

The US president-elect said he had spoken to “probably” 70 world leaders since Wednesday morning but revealed that he had not talked to Putin, who had claimed with a wry smile that he wanted Kamala Harris to win.

The endorsement was not taken at face value as Moscow has long been seen as welcoming Mr Trump’s anti-establishment credentials, and the chaos he has injected into US and global politics.

A new book by Bob Woodward asserts that Mr Trump and Putin may have spoken as many as seven times during Joe Biden’s presidency, and that Mr Trump while in office secretly sent the Russian leader then-scarce Covid tests.

Moscow was widely accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential election to boost Mr Trump’s campaign against Hillary Clinton, although the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected those charges.

Putin said he was impressed by how Trump handled himself during an assassination attempt at a rally earlier this year.

“People show who they are in extraordinary circumstances. And he showed himself, in my opinion, in a very correct manner, courageously. Like a man.”

AFP