US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked him to not escalate the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported. Trump dialled Russian President on November 7, from his estate in Florida, days following his victory in US Presidential Elections. Notably, after his victory, Donald Trump spoke to several world leaders which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
As per reports, Trump called Vladimir Putin after latter’s congratulatory message reached him. In his congratulatory message to Trump, Putin had expressed willingness to engage in discussion and restore the US-Russia relations. This also included working towards resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
What Did Trump Say?
The US daily, on Sunday citing its sources, said that Trump took the call from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and during the conversation advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine.
Reportedly, in his call, Trump reminded Putin of the sizable US military presence in Europe and expressed interest in further discussions aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine. He further emphasized the need for an end to the conflict and expressed a willingness to engage in future dialogue with Moscow on the issue.
During the call, the President-elect reminded Putin of Washington’s sizable military presence in Europe, the Washington Post stated citing a person familiar with the call. During his election campaign, Trump promised to immediately settle the Ukrainian conflict but did not say how he was planning to do this. According to the newspaper, Trump said privately that he would support an agreement where Russia kept some of the liberated territories and during the phone call with Putin, he had briefly touched upon the issue of territories.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has completed over two and a half years and continues to escalate further with no side engaging in dialogue to resolve the conflict.
Neither the White House nor the Kremlin have officially confirmed this information.