Putin says that war in Ukraine would not have broken out in 2022 had Trump been president

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday stated to the media that the three-year war in Ukraine would not have broken out if President Donald Trump won reelection in 2020 and was president at the time.

The comment came during a joint press briefing with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, where the two leaders met to discuss an end to the war. Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Trump repeatedly claimed on the campaign trail last year that he would bring an end to the war in Europe and that if he had been president at the time, the war never would have broken out, which prompted backlash from the media.

"In 2022, during the last contact with the previous administration, I tried to convince my previous American colleague that the situation should not be brought to the point of no return when it would come to hostilities," Putin said. "That [would be] a big mistake. Today when President Trump is saying that if he was the president back then that there would be no war, I'm quite sure that it would indeed be so. I can confirm that."

Putin went on to praise his relationship with Trump, stating that the two men had a good relationship that was trustworthy and business-oriented, and that he felt they were on the road to a peace deal with Ukraine.

The Russian president also encouraged European leaders in NATO and Ukraine not to "torpedo" the progress that was made in Alaska. 

Trump admitted that no peace deal was immediately reached but that the leaders had a "productive" meeting.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.