Russian President Vladimir V. Putin announced President Trump’s second inauguration with glowing praise, saying that Mr. Trump had shown “courage” in his campaign and won a “convincing victory” in the election.
But hours later, on Monday, in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump did not return the favor. The US president made some of his most critical comments ever about Mr Putin, saying the Russian leader was “destroying Russia” by waging war in Ukraine.
“He can’t be excited, he’s not very good,” Mr. Trump told reporters Monday evening, referring to Putin’s war. “Russia is bigger, they have more soldiers to lose, but that’s no way to run a country.”
The whiplash underscored why celebrations of Mr. Trump’s return to the White House in Russia have been muted in recent months: Russian officials know Mr. Trump is unpredictable. Indeed, Mr. Trump has often spoken warmly of Mr. Putin, and in 2018 He accepted the word of the Russian leader on their own intelligence agencies at a summit in Helsinki.
Still, the situation remains stable, and Mr. Trump said on Monday that he could speak with Mr. Putin “very soon.” Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s foreign policy adviser, told reporters on Tuesday that Russia was “taking into account” Mr Trump’s comments from the Oval Office, but was still waiting to hear from his aides about potential talks.
“We are ready and open to dialogue with the new US administration regarding the Ukrainian conflict,” said Mr. Ushakov. “If relevant signals come from Washington, we will take them and be ready to negotiate.”
Mr Trump had promised to end the war before he took office, but when asked on Monday how long it would take to end the fighting, he said: “I have to talk to President Putin. We will have to learn it.”
Mr. Putin has made no secret of his eagerness to talk to Mr. Trump. On Monday, Mr Putin said he welcomed the US president’s willingness to “restore direct relations with Russia”.
But Mr. Putin is hedging his bets by strengthening existing alliances. Last Friday, Mr. Putin welcomed Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian to the Kremlin. signed a contract promising to increase cooperation in military and economic matters. On Tuesday, Mr Putin had a video call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, greeting him as a “dear friend”.
In Ukraine, Russian forces are advancing in the east of the country, but Western officials say more than 1,000 soldiers are killed and wounded a day. In a freewheeling chat with reporters as he signed executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday, Mr. Trump called Russian losses leverage in a potential deal to end the war.
“He’s dealing with it, but most people thought the war would be over in about a week,” Mr Trump said. “I think he would be very good at ending this war.”
Mr Trump said he would meet Mr Putin “very soon” after the inauguration last week, and the Russian president said he was open to meeting Mr Trump. Even without a settlement in Ukraine, such a meeting would be an important milestone for Mr. Putin and a break from nearly three years of isolation imposed by Western leaders.
Ahead of any potential talks, Mr Putin has signaled he will be a tough negotiator and is confident he has the resources to outflank Ukraine and the West despite economic sanctions that have hit the Russian economy hard. On Monday, he reiterated his public stance on Monday that he wanted a “long-term peace” instead of a “short truce” and that he would “fight for Russia’s interests.”
The Kremlin has identified these interests as a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO and other restrictions on the West’s role in Eastern Europe.
