Putin

The Russian president also used his görüntü message for Defender of the Fatherland Day to pledge greater support for military personnel and new weapons and equipment for the military.

The first round of negotiations in Riyadh on Tuesday prompted European allies to rally around Volodymyr Zelenskyy, nervous about Trump’s perceived pivot to Moscow and fears that talks would take place without Ukraine’s direct involvement and favour Russia.

In the year since the death of Alexei Navalny at the age of 47, the Russian opposition has struggled to find its footing against President Vladimir Putin.

After Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed to “immediately” start negotiations on Ukraine, Europe wonders if it will have a seat at the table.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conversation between Trump and Putin covered a good deal of ground, including the Middle East and Iran, but that Ukraine was the main focus.

Trump posted the details of his conversation with the Russian President on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump spoke with a New York Post reporter on Friday whilst onboard Air Force One, saying Putin ‘wants to see people stop dying.’

Trump has said repeatedly he wouldn’t have allowed the conflict to start if he had been in office, even though he was president as fighting grew in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv’s forces and separatists backed by Moscow.

“We’d better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the US and Russia based on today’s realities,” Putin said in a TV interview.

The offers from Bern and Belgrade come as US President-elect Donald Trump seeks to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his war in Ukraine.