International Desk: The newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke on the phone with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. At that time, Trump advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine, a source familiar with their conversation told Reuters on Sunday.
The source said Trump and Putin have spoken in recent days. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Before the election, Trump sharply criticized the extent of the Biden administration’s military and financial aid to Ukraine. He claims that he can end the war in 24 hours if he gets the responsibility. However, he did not elaborate on his plans.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it had no prior knowledge of the conversation between Trump and Putin. As a result, no support or opposition was expressed from their side.
Steven Chiang, Trump’s communications director, said, “We do not comment on private conversations between President Trump and other world leaders.”
The Washington Post first reported on Trump’s phone call with Putin. According to the report of the influential US media, Trump had a phone call with Putin from his residence in Florida last Thursday. According to sources, the main topic of their conversation was the war in Ukraine.
Trump has expressed interest in further talks to end the war in Ukraine and find a permanent solution to the problem, the Washington Post reports.
It was known before the election that Trump is interested in quickly resolving the crisis by stopping the Russia-Ukraine war. Many believe that Trump will not provide billions of dollars in war aid to Ukraine, as did the Joe Biden administration. Rather, he is more interested in stopping the war.
After he came to power, many are hoping that the war that has been going on for more than two and a half years can be stopped.
According to analysts, central to any deal for a quick end to the war will be Russia’s relinquishment of territory it already holds in Ukraine.
