Putin congratulates Trump, invites new US administration to dialogue for peace
Russia has never refused dialogue and remains open to it with the new US administration, including on such issues as strategic stability and the conflict in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
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Donald Trump
Russia congratulates Trump on taking office, Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Security Council. Moscow is open to dialogue with the new US administration on the Ukrainian conflict, he added.
“We see statements by the newly elected US president and members of his team about the aspiration to restore direct contacts with Russia that were interrupted through no fault of ours by the outgoing administration,” Putin said.
According to him, the Kremlin also hears Trump’s statements about the need to prevent a third world war.
“Of course, we welcome this attitude and congratulate the elected US President on taking office,” Vladimir Putin added.
According to him, Russia has never refused dialogue and has always been ready to maintain “even relations of cooperation” with any American administration.
Moscow assumes that the dialogue will be built “on an equal and mutually respectful basis” taking into account “the significant role that our countries play on a number of key issues,” including strengthening strategic stability and security, Putin explained.
“We are also open to dialogue with the new US administration on the Ukrainian conflict,” he says.
Most importantly, one needs to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. The main goal of the settlement is long-term peace, rather than “a short truce or some kind of respite for regrouping forces and rearmament to subsequently continue the conflict. Peace should be based on “respect for the legitimate interests of all peoples living in this region,” the Russian president believes.
“We will, of course, fight for the interests of Russia, the Russian people. This is the purpose or the meaning of the special military operation,” Putin concluded.
On December 19, during a Q&A conference, Putin said that he was ready to meet with Donald Trump.
“I don’t know when we’re going to meet. I haven’t spoken to him in over four years. I’m ready for that, and I’ll be ready for a meeting,” he said.
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Between 73 and 79 days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States is inaugurated as president by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new presidential term, even if the president is continuing in office for another term. The first inauguration of George Washington took place on April 30, 1789. All subsequent public inaugurations from 1793 until 1933 were held on March 4, excluding those in 1821, 1849, 1877, and 1917, when March 4 fell on a Sunday and the public inauguration ceremony took place on Monday, March 5. Since 1937, it has taken place at noon Eastern time on January 20, the first day of the new term, except in 1957, 1985, and 2013, when January 20 fell on a Sunday. In those years, the presidential oath of office was administered on that day privately and then again in a public ceremony the next day, on Monday, January 21. The next presidential inauguration will be held on January 20, 2025, when Donald Trump will assume office.
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