Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory calling him a “courageous man.”

Putin spoke at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the southern Russian city of Sochi on Thursday.

During his address, which lasted several hours and covered a wide range of topics, he also spoke of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July, saying it “made an impression” on him.

After being shot, Trump punched his fist into the air and mouthed the words “fight, fight, fight”, before being hauled away by Secret Service agents.

“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way, courageously, like a man,” Putin said.

The Russia President also said that Trump’s claim that he can help end the war in Ukraine “deserves attention at least”.

Asked if he was ready to have discussions with Donald Trump, Putin replied: “We’re ready, we’re ready.”

Trump had already said on Thursday that he was prepared to speak with Putin, telling NBC News: “I think we’ll speak”.

Putin said Trump’s desire to mend relations with Russia and contribute to ending the crisis in Ukraine is worth attention.

He also expressed his views on Japan-Russia relations.

He referred to bilateral peace treaty negotiations based on a 1956 joint declaration. He said Russia returned to the declaration and resumed talks at the request of the Japanese side, but that Japan suddenly imposed sanctions against Russia.

Putin claimed that Japan’s sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resulted in halting the peace treaty negotiations.

However, he  also pointed out that cooperation with Japanese companies continues in the energy sector. He said that If Japanese firms want to continue, he would let them.

Putin said Russia is ready to build relations with Japan, calling it a neighbor. He said there have been tragic periods between the two countries in the past but that there have also been some that “we can be proud of.”