President Vladimir Putin has stated that he is prepared to talk about the war in Ukraine with US President Donald Trump. This comes after he warned his Russian counterpart (Trump) to end the war quickly, or else face “high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions.” In his first comments since Trump made those threats, Putin mentioned that he’s open to negotiations. Putin told a Russian state TV journalist: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations. It would be better for us to meet, based on the realities of today, to talk calmly.”

Putin went on to describe his relationship with Trump as “businesslike, pragmatic and trustworthy”. ‘He is not only a smart person, but a pragmatic person,’ Putin told state media of his American counterpart. ‘I have a hard time imagining there will be decisions taken that are detrimental to the American economy . However, he pointed out that talking with Ukraine is complicated (because) its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed a decree that prevents him from having discussions with Putin. Putin also remarked that the war in Ukraine could have been avoided (although) Donald Trump was ‘robbed of the e