US President-elect Donald Trump asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the telephone that the ongoing war against Ukraine should not be escalated.
Trump spoke with Putin on Thursday, the first phone conversation between the two men since Trump won the election, several people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
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,” one of the people told the newspaper.
The newspaper quoting several people who are familiar with the conversation reported that Trump reminded Putin about Washington’s sizable military presence in Europe.
During his presidential campaign, Trump had repeatedly said he would end the ongoing Russia and Ukraine war if he was voted to power.
However, he did not clarify the manner it would be done.
Trump-Zelenskyy-Elon Musk
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk joined President-elect Donald Trump during his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, media reports said.
The move clearly shows Musk’s growing influence on the Trump administration.
Musk, who campaigned for Trump in the final weeks of the 2024 race, was not scheduled to be on the call but walked into the room and greeted Zelenskyy, sources told NBC News.
He was not part of a substantive conversation between the two leaders, the person said.
The Ukrainian President shared details of his telephonic conversation with Trump and wrote on X: “I had an excellent call with President @realDonaldTrump and congratulated him on his historic landslide victory—his tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work.”
He said: “We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.”
Meanwhile, the UK chief of defence staff Sir Tony Radakin has said Russian forces suffered an average of about 1,500 deaths and injuries on ‘every single day’ in October.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for the past three years now.
“Russia is about to suffer 700,000 people killed or wounded – the enormous pain and suffering that the Russian nation is having to bear because of Putin’s ambition,” Radakin told BBC.
“There is no doubt that Russia is making tactical, territorial gains and that is putting pressure on Ukraine,” he said.
He said Russia is witnessing an ‘enormous drain’ since it is spending more than 40% of its public expenditure on defence and security.
