President-elect Trump hopes to negotiate with President Putin on Ukraine

According to RIA Novosti, US President-elect Donald Trump expressed hope on January 7 that negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine could take place in less than six months.

During a press conference at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, reporters asked the US President-elect whether talks with Russian President Putin could take place within the next six months.

“Six months? No, I think, I hope, sooner than six months,” the US president-elect said.

Earlier, in a conversation with the press, Trump said that he knew the Russian leader was ready to negotiate, but said that such contacts could only be possible after he officially returned to the White House, which will take place on January 20.

Mr. Trump added that he could not yet specify the approximate date of contact with the Russian President.

Previously, on December 29, 2024, TASS news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as reaffirming Russian President Vladimir Putin's rejection of some of Mr. Trump's proposals on Ukraine. Mr. Lavrov also said that Moscow had not received any official "signals" from the US about the "Ukrainian solution".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on January 4 that Washington does not want direct conflict with Moscow.

“We can navigate in a way that keeps us away from direct conflict with Russia,” he said in an interview with The New York Times, referring to the bilateral relationship. “In terms of direct conflict, I don’t think we’re anywhere close to it, but it’s something we have to be very mindful of.”