Putin: Trump is a smart and experienced person who can end the Ukraine war

• Russian leader Vladimir Putin believes that Donald Trump can end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
• According to Putin, Trump is a “smart and experienced person” and can “find a solution.”
• Putin had previously said he preferred a second Biden term because Joe Biden was “more experienced.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes President-elect Donald Trump can end the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“President Trump, a smart and experienced person, will find a solution, especially given the fact that he went through an uphill battle to retake the Oval Office,” Putin told reporters in Kazakhstan on Thursday.

Putin was speaking on the sidelines of a security summit in the Kazakh capital Astana when asked about President Joe Biden’s recent decision to give Ukraine long-range missiles.

Representatives for Putin and Trump did not respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.

Trump spoke during the campaign about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine in Ukraine. In July 2023, he said on Fox News that if elected he would end the war within 24 hours.

“I wouldn’t say anything more to Zelensky. You have to make a deal. I would say to Putin: If you don’t make a deal, we will give him a lot. “We will give more than ever before if we have to,” Trump said.

Both Ukraine and Russia rejected Trump’s proposal.

However, Putin’s praise for Trump comes just weeks after the two reportedly spoke on the phone. Trump also had a separate phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in November.

Putin and Trump discussed resolving the war in Ukraine and achieving peace in Europe during their phone call, The Washington Post reported Nov. 10, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Kremlin denied the call took place, while a Trump campaign spokesman said it would “not comment on private conversations” between Trump and other foreign leaders.

Putin’s admiration for Trump appears to be mutual.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump called Putin’s move “brilliant” and “wonderful.” He also said without explanation that Putin chose to invade Ukraine during Biden’s presidency rather than his presidency because he had a better relationship with Putin.

“I knew Putin very well. I got along really well with him. He liked me. I liked him,” Trump said during a February 2022 appearance on “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.”

Meanwhile, Putin told state television channel Russia-1 in February that he would “work with any U.S. leader the American people trust.”