Putin congratulated Trump: I am ready; Immediate response from America

"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Trump on his election as president of the United States of America. I have already said that we will work with any head of state whom the American people trust," Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

Putin added that he does not consider it a shame to personally call the new American leader and congratulate him.

"I just don't do that, because at some stage the leaders of Western countries called me almost every week, and then suddenly they stopped. As you can see, we are alive and well, we are developing, we are moving on, and if any of them want to continue contacts, I have always said that I have nothing against it," Putin said.

He added that he was impressed by the behavior of Donald Trump, who won the US presidential election, at the time of his assassination attempt.

"You can look at Trump in different ways, but he is a brave man, his behavior at the time of the assassination is proof of that," the Russian president said, adding that it left a strong impression on him.

He rated Trump's statements about Ukraine as "worthy of attention".

"It seems to me that what Trump said about the desire to restore relations with Russia and to help solve the Ukrainian crisis deserves at least attention," said the Russian head of state.

He says that he does not know how Donald Trump will proceed, and that what he will do is a question for him. When asked if he was ready to deal with Trump, Putin said he was ready and added that the newly elected US president was "persecuted from all sides".

As he said, the Russian president hopes that relations between Russia and the USA will one day be restored.

In an interview with NBC news, the newly elected US President Donald Trump said that he has not yet heard from the Russian leader, but that he "thinks they will talk".

"I think we will talk," Trump commented on the possibility of talking to Putin.

Just to recall that during the campaign, Trump promised to end Russia's war with Ukraine if elected, saying in September that he would negotiate an agreement "that is good for both sides".