The telegram was one of the first to arrive from a world leader. On the morning of November 9, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had sent a message to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump expressing “his hope they can work together toward the end of the crisis in Russian-American relations, as well as address the pressing issues of the international agenda and the search for effective responses to global security challenges.” Just minutes before, the Russian State Duma had erupted in applause when its members learned that Trump had won the election.
Putin appeared to be taking his lead from repeated comments Trump has made suggesting the two would get along: “I would treat Vladimir Putin firmly, but there’s nothing I can think of that I’d rather do than have Russia friendly, as opposed to the way they are right now, so that we can go and knock out ISIS with other people,” the then-candidate of the Republican Party said on July 28, referring to the Islamic State militant group.
