'Patience paid off': Putin out of shadow after Trump call

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been largely shunned by the West since his troops attacked Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

That era of isolation came to an abrupt end on Wednesday, when U.S. President Donald Trump picked up the phone.

The call between the two men -- which the Kremlin said lasted almost an hour and a half -- triggered concern in Ukraine and Europe, but has energized the ex-KGB spy, who has had almost no direct contact with his Western counterparts over the last three years.

Horrified at the devastation caused by Russia's military campaign on Ukraine, the West hit Putin with sanctions, while the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Trump's predecessor Joe Biden called him a "crazy dictator," "pariah around the world," and "crazy SOB."

The long-awaited call with Trump shows how quickly the situation is now changing for Putin -- after three long years of being labelled a bete noire.

"Putin's patience has paid off," Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya said.

- 'Work together' -

The call is likely just the first step in Putin emerging from the shadow of isolation.

In its readout, the Kremlin said Putin and Trump believed "it was time our countries worked together."

Putin invited Trump to Moscow, while the U.S. leader said the pair will meet face-to-face in Saudi Arabia -- without giving a time -- and that talks on a Ukraine settlement should start immediately.

"He (Putin) sees it as a window of opportunity that needs to be used and to get as much as possible," Stanovaya said.

However, the analyst is "skeptical" the talks will lead to any real results because of Putin's "hardline" stance.

"He (Putin) has not changed his position: Ukraine should become a friendly country to Russia, with ironclad guarantees," she added.

The Kremlin leader, in power for 25 years, is "completely ready" for the talks to fail and is still intent on achieving Ukraine's "capitulation" -- with or without Trump.

"Trump is not a panacea for Putin. In his military logic, he thinks he can achieve his goals in Ukraine without Trump," Stanovaya said.

- 'Not a punishment' -

While Russia has spent three years telling its people and the world that it does not need contact with the West, Russian officials reveled in the symbolism of the call.

"It shows the abnormality of those years that we went through under the Biden administration," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

Putin has acknowledged the toll the conflict has taken on him personally.

"These three years were a serious challenge for all of us and for me," the 71-year-old said in December, referring to the Ukraine conflict in general.

Russian political experts said he wants to be back in the fold, holding talks with the US leader.

"There is a lot of euphoria and emotion in Russia now because it looks as if Putin already won, Trump legitimized him as a respected partner and Ukraine lost," analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP.

But there were also calls for caution.

"Negotiations are only just starting. We don't know what Trump plan looks like," Kalachev said.

"Of course, the Kremlin hopes that, with the help of Trump, the West will change so much that it can welcome Putin again," Kalachev said.

Trump said during the call the pair had even discussed joint U.S.-Soviet efforts during World War II.

That prompted speculation the US leader could attend Moscow's ultra-patriotic May 9 military parade -- a hitherto unthinkable prospect for a Western leader amid Russia's campaign in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Trump would be welcome at the event, as would other Western leaders.

Stanovaya said she "can imagine that Trump will come to Moscow. But it is still too early to talk about it."

"That is possible in the event that there will be a breakthrough in talks."

© Agence France-Presse