President-elect Donald Trump has signalled his intent to ditch the outgoing administration’s policies by talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, AFP reports.

Putin had hailed Trump as “courageous” for the way he handled himself following an assassination attempt at a rally in July, and said he was “ready” to hold discussions with him.

Trump later told NBC News that he had not talked to Putin, the authoritarian leader whom he has repeatedly praised over the years, since his victory but “I think we’ll speak”.

The president-elect has previously said he would push through a peace deal in that conflict — but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke to Trump earlier this week, said calls for a ceasefire were “dangerous”.