New US President Donald Trump has instructed his team to arrange a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the days after he takes office. The main goal of the call will be to plan a face-to-face meeting in the coming months that would focus on finding a solution to end the war in Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
During his election campaign, Trump promised to end the conflict within a day of taking office. However, with his inauguration imminent, it seems unlikely that the nearly three-year-old conflict will end anytime soon.
Trump and his team are hoping to quickly begin work on a plan to resolve the conflict that could be implemented in the first months of his presidency. The phone call with Putin is expected to lay the groundwork for this.
Trump officials began preparing for the call with Putin several weeks ago. It is not yet clear whether a specific date for the call has been finalized.
Once Trump officially takes office, U.S. and Russian officials can begin working on organizing a face-to-face meeting. According to Trump, negotiations are already underway, but the Kremlin has said it will wait until the inauguration to begin formal preparations. Switzerland and Serbia have already expressed their willingness to host such a meeting.
The potential talks between Trump and Putin represent a sharp turn from the approach of President Joe Biden, who has not spoken directly to Putin in nearly three years, believing that such communication would not help resolve the conflict.
In contrast, Trump believes that direct communication with the Russian president is key to finding a solution.
It is unclear to what extent Trump will continue the Biden administration's strategy of providing weapons and intelligence to Ukraine. In addition to his opposition to Ukraine's membership in NATO, the new president has not specified what security guarantees he is willing to provide to Kiev.
It also remains unclear who will bear the costs of rebuilding Ukraine, but given Trump's previous statements, it is unlikely that it will be the United States.
The Trump team has not yet commented on the topic.