The newly designated US President, Donald Trump, has instructed his staff to arrange a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after his inauguration, according to a report by CNN on Sunday evening. The goal of the conversation is to discuss the war in Ukraine, among other issues, and potentially arrange a personal meeting in the coming months.
During his presidential campaign, Trump had repeatedly stated that he intended to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office. Trump and his team aim to work quickly on a peace plan, which could become a reality in the first months of his presidency. Direct contact with Putin is part of this plan.
The Kremlin stated that formal preparations for the call would only be made after Trump’s inauguration. Switzerland and Serbia had previously expressed willingness to host such a meeting. Andrei Jermak, the head of the office of the Ukrainian President, said last week that he expects a soon-to-be-held meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss concrete plans to end the war.
Trump’s approach could represent a clear break with the policy of his predecessor, Joe Biden, who did not hold direct talks with Putin in recent years. Trump, on the other hand, believes that direct negotiations with Putin are necessary to end the war.
Trump is set to take office on Monday evening and has already announced that he will issue dozens of executive orders within hours of his inauguration. “With a stroke of a pen, I will be canceling and repealing many of the destructive and radical executive orders and regulations of the Biden administration, and by tomorrow at this time, they will all be null and void” he added.