The US president-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone with the Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday and discussed the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Trump urged Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine, according to the same report.
President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and discussed the war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the call. https://t.co/AUh8xJb4ZN
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 10, 2024
Trump had also spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday and said he would support Kiev, according to media reports.
On Friday, the Kremlin said Putin was ready to talk with Trump about Ukraine, but clarified that this did not mean he was willing to change Moscow’s demands.
On June 14, Putin laid out his terms for ending the war: Ukraine must give up its ambition to join NATO and withdraw all its troops from all territory in four regions claimed by Russia.
Ukraine has rejected those terms as tantamount to capitulation, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed a “victory plan” that includes requests for additional military support from the West.
On an open line with Netanyahu
At the same time, the US president-elect has his attention also focused on the Middle East and for this reason he is in constant communication with Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli prime minister, who on Sunday admitted publicly for the first time that he had given the go-ahead for the September bomber attack against Lebanon’s Hezbollah, said he had spoken to Trump three times in recent days.
“We absolutely agree with every aspect of the Iranian threat and the danger it poses. We also see the great opportunities before Israel in the area of peace and its expansion in other areas as well.”
Trump at the White House on Wednesday
US President Joe Biden will discuss top US domestic and foreign policy priorities with President-elect Donald Trump when the two meet at the White House on Wednesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said today.
In an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Sullivan said Biden’s top message will be his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition of power, while also talking to Trump about what it occurs in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Sullivan also said that President Biden will tell Congress and the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump that Washington should not withdraw from Ukraine, as doing so could cause more instability in Europe.
“President Biden will argue that we need continued resources for Ukraine beyond the end of his term,” he told CBS.
The US national security adviser also asserted that today it is Hamas that is preventing a cease-fire in Gaza, not Israel.
Sullivan added that the US will judge Israel’s progress on a letter written last month by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken regarding humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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