Trump discusses Ukraine war with Putin on phone, reminds him/her of US troops in Europe: Report

According to a Washington Post report, US President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is the first phone conversation between the two leaders after Trump won the election.

The American daily, citing its sources, said on Sunday (local time) that Trump called from his/her Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and during the conversation advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine.

Neither the White House nor the Kremlin have officially confirmed this information.

During the call, the president-elect reminded Putin of Washington’s large military presence in Europe, The Washington Post said, citing a person familiar with the call.

During his/her election campaign, Trump promised to immediately resolve the Ukrainian conflict but did not say how he/she planned to do so. According to the newspaper, Trump said privately that he/she would support an agreement where Russia would retain some liberated territories and briefly touched upon the issue of the territories during a phone call with Putin.

The American daily said the Ukrainian government was informed about the call and did not object because Kiev officials understood Trump would discuss the matter with Putin.

According to Russian state media reports, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the Russian President is ready for talks with Trump, although in his/her words nothing concrete can be said in this regard yet.

Speaking at Thursday’s plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club, Putin congratulated Trump on winning the presidential election, and said he/she saw nothing wrong in calling Trump.

Trump told NBC that he/she has not yet spoken to the Russian leader, but he/she believes such a call is highly likely.

On Sunday, Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said the White House’s goal was to “put Ukraine in the strongest position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest position at the negotiating table.”

Sullivan also said on CBS News that President Biden and President-elect Trump will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

“The first and most important message will be that President Biden is committed to a peaceful transfer of power and a responsible transition from one president to another, which is in the best tradition of our country and has been for the last 240 years. And then they’ll consider the top issues, both domestic and foreign policy,” Sullivan told CBS News.

“This also includes what is happening in Europe and Asia and the Middle East. And the President will have an opportunity to explain to President Trump how he/she sees things, where he/she stands and talk to President Trump about how he/she is approaching these issues once he/she takes office,” White House National The security advisor said.