Putin, speaking at a news conference in Kazakhstan at the end of a regional security conference, commented after being asked about Trump's statements that he could end the Ukraine war swiftly if he won the White House race on Nov. 5.
"The fact that Mr Trump, as a presidential candidate, declares that he is ready and wants to stop the war in Ukraine, we take this completely seriously," Putin said.
"I am not, of course, familiar with possible proposals for how he plans to do this. This is the key question. But I have no doubt that he means it sincerely, and we support it (the idea of ending the war)."
The Washington Post reported in April that Trump had privately spoken about the option of allowing Putin to keep Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and the Donbas area - which Russian forces partially control - in return for peace, something Trump's campaign has not confirmed.
Two key advisers to Trump presented him with a plan to end the war that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more U.S. weapons if it enters peace talks, Reuters reported last month.
Putin said last month that Russia would end the war only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.
Putin said constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington was impossible during a heated U.S. presidential election campaign and that Moscow would wait for the result and see what the new leadership does.
SD/PR