New York
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin stated during his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday that he has not spoken to Donald Trump in over four years, and thus expects \u201cthere will be plenty to discuss\u201d when their next conversation takes place.
\nThe comment came in response to a question from Keir Simmons of NBC News, who asked about the potential dynamics of a future meeting between the two leaders, suggesting that Russia\u2019s position on the global stage has weakened and that the US president-elect would have the upper hand in any talks.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know when we will meet because he has not said anything about it,\u201d Putin said. \u201cI have not spoken to him for more than four years. Of course, I\u2019m ready to talk anytime; I will be ready to meet with him if he wishes.\u201d
\nPutin went on to refute the notion of a weak Russia, saying that the US journalist and those paying his salary \u201creally want to see Russia in a weakened state,\u201d but as a \u201cwell-known writer once remarked: \u2018The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.\u2019\u201d
\n\u201cI believe that Russia has become significantly stronger over the past two or three years. Why? Because we are becoming a truly sovereign country, and we barely depend on anybody. We are capable of firmly standing on our own feet when it comes to the economy,\u201d Putin said.
\nThe president highlighted Russia\u2019s economic resilience and stated that the combat readiness of the Russian Armed Forces is among the highest in the world, with the defense industry rapidly expanding and producing essential military equipment.
\n\u201cThat is why I believe that Russia has largely achieved the state we wanted to achieve. It has grown stronger and become a truly sovereign state, and we will make decisions without regard to other people\u2019s opinions, only with our national interests in mind,\u201d he added.
\nDuring a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday, Trump declined to say whether he had spoken to Putin since winning last month\u2019s presidential election, but indicated that he intends to do so at some point.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll be talking to President Putin, and we\u2019ll be talking to the representatives, Zelensky and representatives from Ukraine,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve got to stop it. It\u2019s carnage,\u201d he urged, referring to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has lasted almost three years.
\nTrump has repeatedly claimed that he could end the Ukraine conflict within \u201c24 hours\u201d of taking office by forcing \u201cpeace through strength,\u201d but has not provided specifics on how he would do this. Putin had previously stated that Trump\u2019s remarks on ending the conflict \u201cdeserve attention\u201d and expressed an openness to talks with the president-elect.
\n\u201cShould there be an opportunity for a meeting with the newly-elected President Donald Trump, I am confident there will be plenty to discuss,\u201d Putin said on Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New York Russian President Vladimir Putin stated during his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday that he has not spoken to Donald Trump in over four years, and thus expects \u201cthere will be plenty to discuss\u201d when their next conversation takes place. The comment came in response to a question from Keir Simmons of NBC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-450733","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n