Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he believed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was sincere in his desire to end the war in Ukraine, but that he did not know how Trump planned to do it, reports "Reuters".
Putin, speaking at a press conference in Kazakhstan at the end of a regional security conference, made the comments after being asked about Trump's statements that he could quickly end the war in Ukraine if he wins the race for the White House on November 5.< /p>
"The fact that Mr. Trump, as a presidential candidate, is saying that he is ready and wants to stop the war in Ukraine, we take that very seriously," Putin said.
"I am not, of course, privy to any suggestions as to how he plans to do this. That is the key question. But I have no doubt that he means it sincerely and we support him."
The Washington Post reported in April that Trump had talked privately about the option of letting Putin keep Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and the Donbass region - which Russian forces partially control - in exchange for peace. something the Trump campaign has not confirmed.
Two key Trump advisers have presented him with a plan to end the war that includes telling Ukraine it will only get more American weapons if it enters peace talks, Reuters reported last month.
Putin said last month that Russia would end the war only if Kiev agreed to abandon its NATO ambitions and hand over all four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands that Kiev quickly dismissed as tantamount to capitulation.
p>
Putin said constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington was impossible during a heated US presidential election campaign and that Moscow would wait for the outcome and see what the new leadership would do.
When asked what he thought of the first televised debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, Putin said he only saw parts of it.
Putin has said on several occasions that he thinks Biden is preferable as a future US president to Trump on Russia, even after Biden called the Kremlin chief a "crazy son of a bitch," though some of his remarks were ambiguous.
Asked Thursday if his publicly stated preference for Biden had changed since the debate, Putin said: "Nothing has changed. Didn't we know what might be coming? We knew".
Biden, 81, turned in a lackluster performance during the debate, which has put questions about his age and mental state at the forefront of the campaign.
Putin said he paid little attention to the partial media coverage of the debate, although he could not ignore it because the United States remains a great power.
Moscow declared readiness for a cease-fire and start negotiations, but only after Kiev fulfilled many conditions: withdraw its troops from Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, give up its plans to join NATO, etc. .
The ceasefire itself, according to many Western commentators, will only allow Moscow to build up strength before the next offensive.