Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated again that he wants to meet with US President Donald Trump.

Putin spoke to Russia's state-run television station on Friday. He said, "We would better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia."

Regarding the relationship with Trump, Putin said, "We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current US president."

Putin also referred to the 2020 US presidential election. He said, "I couldn't disagree with him that if he had been president, if they hadn't stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided."

On Thursday, Trump expressed a desire to meet with Putin as soon as possible. He stressed that the war in Ukraine needs to be brought to an end soon.