Trump claims he discussed Ukraine peace with Putin
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, claims he discussed ending the war in Ukraine with the leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied this information.
Donald Trump claims he spoke on the phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, attempting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The President of the United States announced this on Friday, February 7, during an interview given exclusively to the American tabloid "New York Post" aboard Air Force One.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied information about such a phone conversation between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and President of the United States Donald Trump when asked to comment on the "New York Post" reports by the Russian news agency TASS.
War in Ukraine
The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014, after the overthrow of a pro-Russian president following the revolution on Ukraine's Maidan and the annexation of Crimea by Russia. At that time, Russian-backed separatist forces were fighting against the Ukrainian armed forces.
In February 2022, Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine, calling it a "special military operation" aimed at protecting the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine and countering what he perceived as a severe threat to Russia from Ukraine's potential NATO membership.
Ukraine and its Western supporters, led by the United States, stated that the invasion was an imperial attempt to seize land and promised assistance in defeating Russian forces.
Moscow controls a portion of Ukraine with an area close to the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and is advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of the 2022 invasion.
Putin sets conditions
In early February this year, Reuters, citing two Russian sources familiar with the matter, reported that Russia is considering the possibility of organizing a summit in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with the participation of Putin and Trump.
On June 14 of last year, Putin presented preliminary conditions for the immediate end of the war: Ukraine must abandon its ambitions of joining NATO and withdraw its troops from the entire territory of four Ukrainian regions, to which Russia claims and mostly controls.
The Reuters agency reported in November of last year that Putin is open to talks with Trump regarding a peace agreement with Ukraine but rules out any major territorial concessions and insists that Kyiv abandon its NATO membership ambitions.
The Kremlin has repeatedly called for caution in making speculations about contacts with Trump's team regarding a possible peace agreement.
