President Vladimir V. Putin on Friday brushed aside President Trump’s threat of new sanctions against Russia, saying he doubted that Mr. Trump would make a move that would “harm the American economy,” as the leaders continued jockeying for position ahead of talks that both men have said they want.
Mr. Putin, in comments to Russian state television broadcast Friday, repeated his desire for a meeting with Mr. Trump. But while Mr. Trump has also said he wants to talk to Mr. Putin, neither the White House nor the Kremlin have said when a meeting — or even a phone call — might take place.
“He is not only a smart person, he is a pragmatic person, and I can hardly imagine that decisions will be made that would harm the American economy itself,” Mr. Putin said, referring to the possibility of new sanctions against Russia while heaping new praise on Mr. Trump.
“It is probably better for us to meet and, based on today’s realities, talk calmly about all areas that are of interest to both the U.S. and Russia,” Mr. Putin added.
Mr. Trump on Wednesday threatened “high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on Russian goods if Mr. Putin didn’t make a deal to “STOP this ridiculous war” in Ukraine. (To be sure, U.S. imports of Russian goods totaled a tiny $2.9 billion last year.)
Mr. Putin repeated his frequent claim that Russia is open to negotiations on “the Ukrainian problem,” but that Ukraine needed to lift a 2022 decree that declared talks with Mr. Putin “impossible.” Many analysts say that Mr. Putin appears confident in Russia’s ability to outlast Ukraine and the West, and that he would seek to impose Russia’s terms in any negotiations.
The main target of his seven-minute statement on Friday, however, appeared to be Mr. Trump. He seconded Mr. Trump’s frequent claim that the war wouldn’t have happened on Mr. Trump’s watch and the falsehood that Mr. Trump was the rightful winner of the 2020 presidential election.
“I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president, if his victory hadn’t been stolen in 2020, then perhaps the crisis that occurred in Ukraine in 2022 would not have happened,” Mr. Putin said.
Mr. Putin also appealed to Mr. Trump on economic terms. Both the United States and Russia, he said, are interested in keeping energy prices stable because they are both major producers and consumers of energy. It was an apparent riposte to Mr. Trump, who said on Thursday that “the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately” if the price of oil came down.
“If prices are too high, that’s bad for both our economy and the American economy,” Mr. Putin said. “And when prices are too low that’s also very bad, because it undermines investment opportunities for energy companies. We have a lot to talk about here.”
