Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Charles (Chuck) Timothy HagelWhile our foes deploy hypersonic weapons, Washington debates about funding Hillicon Valley: Democrats request counterintelligence briefing | New pressure for election funding | Republicans urge retaliation against Chinese hackers National security leaders, advocacy groups urge Congress to send election funds to states MORE had a bit of advice for the next president: be prepared to work with Russia.

"One of the first orders of business for the next president, in my opinion, is that we need to sit down with [President] Vladimir Putin," Hagel said at a media roundtable at the Atlantic Council on Tuesday.

"And that may be distasteful, but we know enough about President Putin that he deals with leader-to-leader," he said.

Moscow has been under stiff economic pressure since the annexation of Crimea, but that hasn't stopped Putin from increasing interference in Syria's civil war.

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"And Russia has immense internal problems; we know that; we understand that. And they are not going to be able to sustain what's going on now," Hagel added. "But in the meantime, there's a lot of damage being done here to our interests, to the world's interests, and until that leader-to-leader dialogue begins — 'what do you need, what do we need, and let's start sorting this out,' — then you will continue a proxy war, what we are essentially seeing in the Middle East in Syria today, and I'm not sure where that takes any of us."

Hagel declined to endorse a presidential candidate, saying he would leave that up to the American people.

However, Hagel's recommendation would fall more in line with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE's campaign rhetoric of getting along with Putin.

At a recent rally, Trump bragged about the Russian leader calling him a "genius" and predicting he'd be the next leader of the U.S.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we actually got along with Russia?" Trump said at a Saurday rally in Spokane, Wash.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE has called Putin a bully and praised President Obama for standing up to him.

"We’ve had some very tough dealings with one another. And I know that he’s someone that you have to continually stand up to because, like many bullies, he is somebody who will take as much as he possibly can unless you do,” she said at the fourth Democratic debate in January.