Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would be happy to meet with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, but it is necessary to prepare for it.

"You know, the meeting must be prepared. I would be happy to meet with Donald [Trump]. We have not seen each other for a long time. We do not have close relations, but in previous years, during his four years of work as [US] president, we met very closely and discussed our interstate relations. I would be happy to meet with him today as well, and I believe he would be, too. This is evident from the nature of our telephone conversation," Putin told reporters, according to RIA Novosti.

Earlier today, Vladimir Putin commented for the first time on the results of Tuesday’s Russian-US talks held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and made a statement on Ukraine.