Moscow has never shied away from contacts with Washington, Joe Biden interrupted them, Russian President Vladimir Putin told VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin at the end of his visit to Moscow State University, commenting on his US counterpart Donald Trump's statements.

He also noted that the current Ukrainian leadership is illegitimate at the moment, which is dangerous because any result of negotiations with it may become null and void.

Here are compiled the key statements of the Russian head of state.

On relations with US, President Trump's statements

Moscow has seen US President Donald Trump's statements about his readiness to interact with Moscow: "We are always open to that."

"I would say that my interactions with the current US president have always been professional, strictly business-like, but also pragmatic and trust-based."

Russia "has never refused to communicate with the United States," but contacts have been interrupted by Washington."

Moscow "has quite a lot of common points" with the current US administration." Under Joe Biden, the US imposed many sanctions against Russia, shooting itself in the foot.

Newly elected US President Donald Trump is a pragmatic man, Russian President Vladimir Putin says, so the idea that he would introduce sanctions against Russia that hurt the economy of the US itself is far-fetched. Trump is a "an intelligent and pragmatic man", he is unlikely to decide on such sanctions against Russia that would harm the US economy.

"I doubt he [Trump] would make any decisions which harm the US economy itself. Not only is he intelligent, but he’s pragmatic too," the Russian leader emphasized when responding to a question following his visit to Moscow State University. "I find it hard to imagine decisions which hurt the US economy itself would be made."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described his relationship with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, as trust-based.

"I would say that my interactions with the current US president have always been professional, strictly business-like, but also pragmatic and trust-based," he said.

Putin recalled that he and Trump already worked together during the latter's previous presidential term, noting that Moscow has reason to talk with the US administration, including on economic issues, and some other matters of mutual interest for the two countries. 

The president recalled however that during his first presidential term Trump wasn’t shy about sanctioning Russia. "I don’t think this strategy served the interests of either Russia or the United States itself," he added.

On Ukrainian conflict

Russia is ready for negotiations on Ukraine, but Kyiv is "obstructing" them.

Zelensky's decision to ban dialogue with Russia makes possible negotiations null and void.

The current Ukrainian leadership is illegitimate at the moment: "And this means that the result of these negotiations can also be declared illegitimate."

It is hardly possible to negotiate seriously under the conditions of Zelensky's "prohibitive decree."

If Trump's victory in the 2020 presidential election hadn't been "stolen," the current crisis in Ukraine might not have happened.

Kyiv is happy to receive hundreds of billions of dollars from sponsors, but is in no hurry to revoke the decision to ban negotiations with Russia.

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Sources: News Agency - Officials