Putin stated that if Trump had been president instead of Biden, the war would not have begun.

The Russian dictator Putin expressed his desire to meet personally with American President Donald Trump to discuss various matters.

“We see the president’s statement regarding his readiness for joint work; we are always open to this. Most likely, it would indeed be better for us to meet, based on today’s realities, and calmly discuss all the areas of interest to both the USA and Russia,” Putin stated in an interview with Russian media on the second day after Trump threatened to collapse global oil prices.

Putin mentioned that he has always had not only “business and pragmatic relations” with Trump but also “trusting” ones.

He even claimed that if Trump had remained president four years ago, there might not have been a war.

“I cannot disagree with him that if he had been president, and if his victory had not been stolen in 2020, then perhaps the crisis in Ukraine that arose in 2022 would not have occurred,” Putin asserted.

He added that although during Trump’s first term he imposed the “largest number” of sanctions against Russia, currently, despite all his public threats, that will not happen.

“He is not only a smart person – he is a pragmatic one,” Putin said, adding that in his opinion, new restrictions are not beneficial to the USA itself.

Background. To learn about the likely position of OPEC regarding Trump’s proposal, read the Mind article “Cheap oil to end the war: how viable are Trump’s plans.”