KAZAN, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday his relationship with the United States after the presidential election would depend on what attitude Washington adopts, as he welcomed comments by Donald Trump on his desire to end the Ukraine conflict as "sincere."
But the Kremlin leader struck a hardline tone, warning the West it was an "illusion" to think Russia could be defeated on the battlefield and that any peace deal would have to recognise Russia's control of swaths of Ukrainian territory.
