U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone and discussed ending the Ukraine war. This was reported by the New York Post on Saturday (February 8), according to British news agency Reuters.
In an interview, Trump said, “He (Putin) wants the killing to stop.”
Trump further mentioned that he has “always maintained a good relationship with Putin” and that he has a “concrete plan” to end the war, though he did not provide any details.
He added, “I want this to end quickly. People are dying every day. This war in Ukraine is horrific. I want to stop this destruction.”
During an interview on Air Force One on Friday, Trump was asked how many times he had spoken with Putin.
Regarding this, Trump responded, “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say.”
However, neither the Kremlin nor the White House has commented on the matter yet, and they have not responded to Reuters’ requests for a statement.
At the end of January, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin was ready to speak with Trump over the phone and that Moscow was waiting for signals from Washington.
On Friday, Trump revealed that he might meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy next week, where discussions about ending the war could take place.
The Ukraine war began on February 24, 2022, with Russia’s full-scale military invasion. On February 24 this year, the war will enter its third year. Thousands of people have been killed in this conflict, the majority of them being Ukrainian civilians.