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Putin, Russian officials secretly congratulate Trump, media reports

by Martin Fornusek November 7, 2024 9:46 AM 2 min read
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) chats with Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the central Vietnamese city of Danang on Nov. 11, 2017. (Mikhail Klimentyev / SPUTNIK / AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Editor's note: The article was updated with the Kremlin's response.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump "through acquaintances" instead of an official phone call, the Russian independent news outlet Verstka reported on Nov. 6.

Previously, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he is not aware of any plans by Putin to congratulate Trump, as the U.S. is an unfriendly country "involved in a war against Russia."

Trump received informal and indirect congratulations also from other top Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chairman of the Board of Sberbank German Gref, and speakers of the two houses of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko and Vyacheslav Volodin, Verstka reported, citing a Russian parliamentary source.

The Kremlin disputed story, with Peskov calling the claims "unreliable" information in a comment for the media.

Trump claimed victory in a presidential vote on Nov. 5, defeating his Democratic challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris. The election is expected to have a profound impact on Russia's war in Ukraine, as some worry Trump might seek to cut a deal with Putin at the cost of painful concessions by Kyiv.

The U.S. president-elect has also often boasted about close relations with Putin and mocked Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky as the "greatest salesman on earth" for receiving U.S. military assistance.

Putin claimed indifference to the result of the vote and once even said he would prefer Harris as a president in an apparent wry remark, while U.S. intelligence has accused Russia of election interference to boost Trump.

Russian officials offered mixed responses to Trump's election. While some were cautiously optimistic about a possible decrease in support for Ukraine, others believed that Washington's foreign policy would not change fundamentally.

"Hopes are primarily associated with the reduction of aid to Ukraine during (the war)," Verstka's source said, believing Trump is a much better option for Russia than Harris.

Trump to call Putin, seek quick deal to end Russia-Ukraine war, says Volker
Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6, after months of repeatedly claiming he could end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a day. To do that, he will have to do what he claims he does best — negotiate a deal. Ambassador Kurt Volker is one person
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11:54 PM

Biden seeks to cancel over $4.5 billion of Ukraine's debt.

"We have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans, provide that economic assistance to Ukraine, and now Congress is welcome to take it up if they wish," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Nov. 20.
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