US President Donald Trump spoke to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on the phone on Thursday. The Republican said that they talked about trade after the end of the Ukraine war.
Trump said that Putin congratulated him on the peace deal to end the Israel-Hamas war, which the US President thinks would help in negotiating the end of the Ukraine war.
“I have just concluded my telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, and it was a very productive one. President Putin congratulated me and the United States on the Great Accomplishment of Peace in the Middle East, something that, he said, has been dreamed of for centuries. I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social after the call.
Trump said that they spent a great deal of time talking about trade between Russia and the United States when the war with Ukraine ends.
“At the conclusion of the call, we agreed that there will be a meeting of our High Level Advisors next week. The United States’ initial meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with various other people to be designated. A meeting location is to be determined. President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed-upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this “inglorious” War between Russia and Ukraine to an end. President Zelenskyy and I will be meeting tomorrow in the Oval Office, where we will discuss my conversation with President Putin and much more. I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” Trump added.
Trump is scheduled to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday at the White House.
Vladimir Putin’s special envoy said the Russian President’s call with Trump was “productive” and clearly laid out the next steps for talks.
Trump has indicated in recent weeks that he is eager to ramp up pressure on Putin to bring the war to an end, pushing US economic partners to cut off purchases of Russian energy and teasing the prospect of allowing Ukraine access to long-range Tomahawk missiles.
Tomahawks, among the most advanced weapons in the American arsenal, would allow Kyiv’s forces to strike deeper into Russian territory and mark a major shift for a US president who has been focused on bringing about a ceasefire.
The US president previously indicated he would use the Tomahawks as leverage in his conversation with Putin. “I might say, ‘Look, if the war’s not going to get settled, I may send them Tomahawks,’” Trump has said.
Long-range retaliatory strikes against Russia offer to help Ukraine strengthen its hand in any future negotiations. Putin has warned that supplying Tomahawks to Kyiv “would signal the advent of a totally new stage” in the war and in Russia’s relations with the US.
