Russia ready to compromise with Trump on Ukraine war, says Putin

Russian leader also says country has no conditions for starting talks with Kyiv

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec 19 that he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with US President-elect Donald Trump on ending the war and had no conditions for starting talks with the Ukrainian authorities.

Trump, a self-styled master of brokering agreements, has vowed to swiftly end the conflict, but has not yet given any details on how he might achieve that.

Mr Putin, fielding questions on state TV during his annual question-and-answer session with Russians, told a reporter for a US news channel that he was ready to meet Trump, whom he said he had not spoken to for years.

Asked what he might be able to offer Trump, Mr Putin dismissed an assertion that Russia was in a weak position, saying Russia had grown much stronger since he ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.

"We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises," Mr Putin said, after saying that Russian forces, advancing across the entire front, were moving towards achieving their primary goals in Ukraine.

"Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight. We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises."

Reuters reported in November that Mr Putin was open to discussing a Ukraine ceasefire deal with Trump, but ruled out making any major territorial concessions and insisted Kyiv abandon its ambitions to join Nato.