Putin made a statement regarding the "dialogue" with Trump

The Russian dictator congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his inauguration.

Russia is ready for a “dialogue” with Donald Trump and the new US administration regarding Ukraine, but the “root cause of the crisis” must be eliminated, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council on Monday, January 20.

"We are open to dialogue with the new US administration regarding the Ukrainian conflict. The most important thing here is to eliminate the root causes of the crisis. As for the settlement of the situation itself, I want to emphasize again: its goal should not be a short truce, not some respite for regrouping forces and rearming with the aim of further continuation of the conflict, but long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people, all nations living in this region," he said.

Putin also congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his inauguration.

"We see the statement of the newly elected US president and members of his team about the desire to restore direct contacts with Russia, interrupted through no fault of ours by the outgoing administration. We welcome such and congratulate the elected US president on taking office," he said and assured that Russia has supposedly never "refused dialogue, has always been ready to maintain equal relations of cooperation with any American administration."

Putin very much hopes that such relations will be built "on an equal and mutually respectful basis."

And during his speech on the eve of his inauguration, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine and prevent World War III, and stated that he and his team were very close to doing so.