OAN Staff Abril Elfi 
11:11 AM – Saturday, August 16, 2025

Russia President Vladimir Putin has stated that he agrees with the argument that if President Donald Trump would have been president after 2020, the war in Ukraine would not have ever even begun.

Following his meeting with Trump on Friday, Putin spoke with reporters, saying he would not have invaded Ukraine if former President Biden hadn’t been in office after the 2020 election.

”I’d like to remind you that in 2022, during the last contact with the previous administration, I tried to convince my previous American colleague the situation should not be brought to the point of no return when it would come to hostilities,” Putin said following his meeting with Trump. “And I said it quite directly back then. That’s a big mistake today, when President Trump is saying that if he was the president back then, there will be no war — and I’m quite sure that it would indeed be, so I can confirm that.”

Earlier in his speech, Putin regretted that prior to Trump, bilateral relations between the United States and Russia had “fallen to the lowest point since the Cold War,” and emphasized that there had been no summits between the two countries in the previous four years.

“That’s not benefiting our counties and the world as a whole,” Putin said, adding that it was “apparent that sooner or later [U.S. and Russia] had to amend the situation to move on from the confrontation to dialogue.”

Meanwhile, Putin commended Trump for “his strive to get to the crux of the matter and to understand this history,” in reference to the war’s origins.  He described the dedication as “precious.” 

During his speech, the Russian president also stated that he expects that Trump’s new chapter of global diplomacy will “help us rebuild and foster mutually beneficial and equal ties at this new stage, even during the hardest conditions.” 

Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts

Sponsored Content Below