President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (June 19) that U.S. President Donald Trump is right when he says that Russia's conflict in Ukraine would not have taken place if Trump had been in the White House at the time.

Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (JUNE 19, 2025) (HOST BROADCASTER - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF MEETING BETWEEN RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AND REPRESENTATIVES OF FOREIGN NEWS AGENCIES

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:

"(Trump) has repeatedly said that if he was the President, this war (in Ukraine) would not have happened. I believe he is correct in this regard, let me explain why. In one of my last phone conversations with Mr. Biden - I won’t go into details now, though we naturally have records of this discussion - I explicitly told him that conflicts, especially hot conflicts, must be avoided, and that all issues should be resolved through peaceful means."

3. MEETING IN PROGRESS

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:

"I said exactly that to Biden. And indeed, had Trump been the President, perhaps this conflict would not have happened. I fully acknowledge that possibility."

5. MEETING IN PROGRESS, PUTIN SPEAKING

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:

"We must find a solution that not only ends the current conflict but also creates conditions preventing the recurrence of such situations for the foreseeable historical future."

7. MEETING IN PROGRESS

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:

"We are ready to meet. In fact, I’ve said that I’m prepared to meet with everyone, including Zelensky. But that’s not the issue. If the Ukrainian state entrusts someone to conduct negotiations—by all means, let it be Zelensky. The question isn’t about that. The question is: who will sign the documents? Listen, I didn’t make this up. In terms of propaganda, you can say anything about the legitimacy of the current authorities. But when resolving serious matters, what matters to us isn’t propaganda—it’s the legal aspect."

9. MEETING IN PROGRESS

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:

"The agreement must be signed by the legitimate authorities. Otherwise, you know very well, the next leader could come up and toss it all in the trash. But that’s no way to handle serious matters—we’re dealing with substantive issues here. That’s why I’m not rejecting the possibility. But substantial groundwork must first be done."

11. MEETING IN PROGRESS