Donald Trump calls Russia’s Vladimir Putin, urges him not to escalate war in Ukraine: report
The HinduU.S. President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported Sunday. They said he also expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.” Mr. Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv. Mr. Zelensky described the call as “excellent,” saying that he and Trump had agreed to “maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.” The outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Mr. Trump’s inauguration on January 20. ‘Losing your allowance’ The Russian government has given a cautious but mostly positive response to Mr. Trump’s return, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Sunday : “The signals are positive. Mr. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., shared a clip Saturday on Instagram which showed Mr. Zelensky standing next to the President-elect with a caption reading: “POV : You’re 38 days from losing your allowance.” Any quick deal in Ukraine is expected to require Kyiv to cede some of the territory it has lost to Russian invaders in Ukraine’s south and east.