Washington Post: Trump called Putin to not escalate war in Ukraine
US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
The newspaper reported that Trump spoke to Putin from his resort in Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Thursday, just days after his victory in the presidential election over his Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
The newspaper quoted several people familiar with the call who did not reveal their identities, saying that Trump reminded Putin of the large US military presence in Europe.
They said that Trump also expressed interest in further talks to find a soon solution to the war in Ukraine.
Trump’s election is seen as bringing with it the potential to end the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine, with the president-elect insisting on a quick end to the war, casting doubt on Washington’s continued billions of dollars in support for Kiev.
Earlier, Russian state media welcomed Trump’s victory, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying, “The signals are positive… At least he is talking about peace, not confrontation”.
This week, Putin himself praised Trump for being “brave” after the assassination attempt in July, expressing his readiness to communicate with him.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to end the war in Ukraine quickly, even before he was sworn in on January 20, but he didn’t specify how he would do so.
Any quick deal is expected to require Kyiv to give up some of the territory it has lost in southern and eastern Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that giving up territory or meeting other tough demands would only encourage the Kremlin to further aggression.
Trump briefly raised the territory issue, people familiar with the call said Thursday.
In recent months, both sides in the conflict have taken steps seen as potential efforts to reap gains ahead of final negotiations, with Ukraine seizing territory from Russia and Moscow’s forces making advances in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine launched a record number of drone attacks overnight, while the Kremlin said it saw positive signals in Trump’s position and desire to reach an agreement to end the conflict.
