Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, looks at US President Donald Trump before posing for a family photo before the G20 summit in Argentina, 30 November, 2018. Photo: Vladimir Astapkovich / Sputnik via AFP
By Vladimir Soldatkin, Reuters
Russia President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US presidential election, praising him for showing bravery when a gunman tried to assassinate him, and said Moscow was ready to talk to the Republican president-elect.
"I would like to congratulate him on his election as president," Putin told the Valdai discussion club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Trump said during campaigning that he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours if he was elected, but has given few details on how he would seek to end the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two.
Putin said what Trump had said in the campaign about resolving the Ukraine crisis deserved attention. He said that if Trump wanted to resume contacts, then Russia was ready for discussion.
-Reuters
