The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke last Thursday with the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, citing anonymous sources. During the first telephone conversation between the two since Trump won the elections on November 5, the American advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of the considerable US military presence in Europe, according to the newspaper.
Trump and Putin spoke about the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed interest in holding follow-up talks to discuss “soon the resolution of the war in Ukraine,” according to the sources cited by the capital newspaper.
In his presidential campaign, Trump said he would immediately end the war in Ukraine, although he did not offer details on how he planned to do so. He has privately indicated that he would support an agreement in which Russia kept part of the conquered territory, and during the call he briefly raised the territorial question, according to The Washington Post.
Trump has been holding frequent calls with the leaders of different countries around the world since he won the elections. Last Wednesday he spoke with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, his campaign financier and political ally who is also the founder, boss and main shareholder of Space X, the company that manages the Starlink satellite network. Ukraine is highly dependent on that network for the connectivity of its armed forces.
The call lasted about 25 minutes. It was possible because the teams of both politicians had agreed to establish a permanent dialogue channel to bring positions closer together, during a press conference with the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
Trump’s position on Ukraine worries NATO allies. As a candidate, he even said that he would resolve it in one day or even before taking office. Many fear that, given his relationship with Putin, Trump has repeatedly criticized the aid packages provided by the United States. The Biden Government is looking for a way to get all possible military aid to Ukraine before January 20, when the White House will take over.
In an interview with NBC on Thursday afternoon, Trump said he had spoken with about 70 world leaders, including the president of Ukraine. He said that at that time he had not yet spoken to the Russian president, but that he believed he would.
After a few days in which he had been unusually passive on his social networks, this Saturday he fired through Truth, his own network, and X, owned by Elon Musk. In one, against some internal critics in the Republican Party. In the other, against his rivals from the Democratic Party. In both cases, with a certain condescension. Trump announced that he will not have Nikki Haley or Mike Pompeo in his Cabinet. At the same time, he offered help to Democrats if they face financial difficulties in the interest of unity, although it is not clear if this was a serious proposal or trolling.
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