The president of Russia Vladimir Putin is willing to discuss Ukraine with the newly elected US president Donald Trumpbut that does not mean it intends to change Moscow’s claims, the Kremlin announced today.

The representative of the Russian presidency Dmitry Peskov he made the statement after being asked at the daily press briefing whether Putin’s availability to speak with Trump reflected a willingness to change those claims.

“The president has never said that the objectives of the special military operation are changing. On the contrary, he has repeatedly said that they remain the same,” Peskov noted.

“All this concerns the security interests of our country, the security interests of the Russians who live there. Therefore, there is no talk of changes here,” he stressed.

On June 14, Putin set out his terms for ending the war: U Ukraine it should renounce its NATO ambitions and withdraw all its troops from all four-region territory claimed by Russia.

Ukraine rejected them, saying it would amount to surrender, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a “victory plan”, which includes requests for additional military support from the West.

During his election campaign, Trump criticized the extent of US military and economic support for Kiev and said he could end the war within 24 hours, without specifying how.

THE Zelensky congratulated Trump on his victory in the US presidential election, but noted that he does not know how the president-elect plans to quickly end the conflict. “If it is only fast, it means losses for Ukraine. I just still don’t see how this could be done any other way. Maybe we don’t know something, we don’t see (something),” he said yesterday.

Putin yesterday congratulated Trump on his victory in the US elections, praised him for the courage with which he faced the assassination attempt against him in July and noted that Moscow is ready for dialogue with him. He added that Trump’s comments about trying to end the war are worthy of attention.

Trump told NBC that he hasn’t spoken to Putin since winning the election, but noted that he thinks “we’re going to talk.”

Asked about a possible phone call between them, Peskov noted that there was nothing concrete to report yet, and that it would be premature to speak of any improvement in Russia-US relations.

But Putin has made it clear many times that he remains open to dialogue, Peskov added.

According to the Kremlin, relations with the US are at a historic low due to Washington’s support for Ukraine and US sanctions on Russia.

The last contact Putin had with Joe Biden was in February 2022, a few days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the US president warned him of an immediate and severe response from the West if he invaded.

The Kremlin denied last month that Trump has spoken to Putin since leaving the White House. American journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his book “War” citing an unnamed associate of the former president that they may have spoken as many as seven times since 2021 when Trump left the White House.