Putin says he is ready for talks with Trump on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he was ready for talks with US counterpart Donald Trump on Ukraine, praising him as a “smart” leader who might have prevented the conflict from starting in 2022.Kyiv reacted quickly, warning against being excluded from negotiations.The Russian leader did not say when talks would take place, and the Kremlin said earlier it was still waiting for “signals” from Washington, despite Trump announcing Thursday he was willing to meet Putin “immediately”.”We have always said, and I want to emphasise this once again, that we are ready for these…