Trump Reportedly Has Call With Putin, Warns Him Not to ‘Escalate’ Ukraine War While Reminding Him of America’s ‘Sizable Military Presence’
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Presdient-elect Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin not to escalate his country’s war with Ukraine in a phone call last week – the first between the two since the election, according to a new report.
The Washington Post reported the call was made last Thursday and cited sources who said Trump reminded his Russian counterpart during their conversation that the US had a significant military presence in Europe.
Writing for the Post, Ellen Nakashima, John Hudson, and Josh Dawsey reported:
During the call, which Trump took from his resort in Florida, he advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of Washington’s sizable military presence in Europe, said a person familiar with the call, who, like others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
The two men discussed the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon,” several of the people said.
The Post also reported Trump raised the issue of “land” while apparently harkening back to the rhetoric on the campaign trail suggesting Kyiv should cede some eastern Ukrainian lands Russia had ceased in the nearly three-year war in hopes of ending the stalemate.
According to the report, Putin also congratulated Trump on his election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris – something Moscow previously said he was not likely to do. The Post reported:
But on Thursday, Putin publicly congratulated Trump on his victory, praising his “manly” response to the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, and said he was “ready” to speak with Trump.
Meanwhile, Russian state media reported Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said Russian officials view Trump’s return to the world stage as a “positive” relations between the countries could improve.
Trump has spoken to dozens of world leaders since Wednesday, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
