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President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday said American companies could do lucrative business deals in Russia and even help mine rare earths in Russian-occupied Ukraine, further amplifying the Kremlin\u2019s message to President Trump that there was money to be made from a better relationship with Moscow<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mr. Putin, in an interview with Russian state television that was released late Monday, said that Russia had an \u201corder of magnitude\u201d more rare earth metals than Ukraine and that Moscow was \u201cready to work with our foreign partners, including the Americans,\u201d in developing those deposits.<\/p>\n He said the invitation applied to Russian-occupied Ukraine as well, adding that American companies could also \u201cmake good money\u201d by helping to develop aluminum production in Siberia.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is something to think about here,\u201d Mr. Putin said, referring to aluminum, \u201cas well as about joint work on rare earth metals and in other areas, for example, energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The interview showed Mr. Putin working hard to appeal to Mr. Trump\u2019s interest in profits and deal-making. It came as Mr. Trump has swung American foreign policy in Mr. Putin\u2019s favor at dizzying speed, as underscored by the United States siding with Russia<\/a> in votes at the United Nations on Monday about the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has been pressuring Ukraine to agree to grant the United States a share of its revenues from mining rare earth metals and other natural resources. The two sides were closing in on such an agreement<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n Mr. Putin praised Mr. Trump\u2019s recent comments about a potential deal<\/a> in which the United States, Russia and China would halve their defense budgets.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems to me that the idea is good: The United States would reduce by 50 percent, and we would reduce by 50 percent, and the People\u2019s Republic of China would then join in if it wants,\u201d Mr. Putin said. \u201cWe think that the proposal is good and are ready for discussions on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But the interview also showed that Mr. Putin appears to be in far less of a hurry than Mr. Trump to end the war in Ukraine. Russia continues to slowly gain ground on the battlefield, while Ukraine struggles with a dearth of personnel and uncertainty about the future of American support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Putin said there was little discussion about the war in his Feb. 12 call with Mr. Trump and last week\u2019s meeting between American and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia<\/a> \u2014 a cautionary note about the prospects for imminent peace compared to recent statements from Mr. Trump, who has said that the war could end within weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe touched on problems related to the Ukraine crisis, but it itself was not substantively discussed,\u201d Mr. Putin said of the recent talks between the United States and Russia. \u201cWe only agreed that we would move toward this.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked by the reporter for Russian state television whether Mr. Trump was playing into Russia\u2019s hands, Mr. Putin said no and praised the American president for using \u201ca rational approach to the current situation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe is in a unique position,\u201d Mr. Putin said. \u201cHe does not simply say what he thinks, but he says what he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Putin said Mr. Trump was right to criticize President Volodymyr Zelensky for the lack of elections in Ukraine during martial law \u2014 a stance that Mr. Putin has pushed for months, calling Mr. Zelensky an illegitimate president.<\/p>\n In a new talking point, Mr. Putin appeared to assert that Ukraine\u2019s rightful president should be Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine\u2019s top military commander for the first two years of the war, who is now ambassador to London.<\/p>\n Mr. Putin said General Zaluzhny was twice as popular as Mr. Zelensky inside Ukraine, without providing a source for his figures. Polling does show Mr. Zelensky trailing General Zaluzhny in a hypothetical presidential election<\/a>, but by much narrower margins.<\/p>\n Mr. Putin said Mr. Zelensky would have \u201cabsolutely no chance of winning the elections\u201d against General Zaluzhny. Mr. Putin referred to the general as \u201cMr. Zaluzhny,\u201d a notable courtesy given that Mr. Putin almost never uses Mr. Zelensky\u2019s name in public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n