Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he considers former United States President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's words about his intention to resolve conflict in Ukraine "sincere."

"What Mr. Trump said recently, what I heard - he spoke about the desire to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine - it seems to me that he said this sincerely. Statements of this kind, no matter who they come from, we, of course, welcome," Putin pointed out at a press conference following the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.

Nonetheless, the Russian president highlighted that there were no contacts with Trump before, and there are none now. "Nothing like this has ever happened. It didn't happen before, and it doesn't happen now," Putin added.