A source says Trump told Putin not to make things worse in Ukraine
Although the Kremlin denied the two had spoken, a person familiar with the conversation claimed that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine.
Trump, who has blasted the extent of U.S. military and financial assistance for Kyiv and declared he will bring the war to a swift conclusion, has recently spoken with Putin, the source told Reuters on Sunday.
Trump ordered Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the call and cited unnamed sources.
However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made the remarkable claim on Monday that no such call had occurred.
“This is wholly false. “This is just false information, pure fiction,” he told reporters. “There was no conversation.”
“This is the most obvious example of the quality of the information that is being published now, sometimes even in fairly reputable publications,” added the politician.
When asked if Putin had any intentions to speak with Trump, Peskov responded, “There are no concrete plans yet.”
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, spoke with Trump last Wednesday.
In response to a question concerning the alleged Trump-Putin conversation, Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung stated: “We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”
After winning the presidential election on November 5, Republican Donald Trump will into office on January 20. The White House said that Biden had invited Trump to the Oval Office on Wednesday.
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser for the United States, stated on Sunday that Biden’s main message will be his pledge to guarantee a peaceful handover of power. He would also discuss current events in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with Trump.
“President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to the Congress and to the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe,” Sullivan stated on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” broadcast.
Sullivan was questioned about whether Biden will request that Congress enact legislation authorizing additional cash for Ukraine.
“I’m not here to specifically propose legislation. He stated, “President Biden will argue that we do require continued resources for Ukraine after his term is over.”
Ukraine Funding
Trump has frequently criticized and agitated against the tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic help that Washington has given to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
Last year, Trump claimed he would not have allowed Putin to invade Ukraine if he had been president at the time. In order to establish a peace deal, he told Reuters, Ukraine might have to give up territory, something Biden has never proposed and Kiev rejects.
On Thursday, Zelenskiy stated that he was uncertain about the specifics of Trump’s plan to bring the war to a swift conclusion and that he was certain Kyiv would have to make significant sacrifices.
Under Biden, Congress appropriated more than $174 billion for Ukraine, according to the Government Accountability Office. Under Trump, the rate of aid is practically certain to slow down as Republicans are expected to gain a 52-seat majority in the U.S. Senate.
It is still unclear who will control the U.S. House of Representatives in the upcoming Congress because some votes are still being tabulated. Edison Research reports that Republicans have secured 213 seats, very close to the 218 required for a majority. Republicans will have a far easier job getting most of Trump’s agenda through Congress if they win both chambers.
In a CBS interview, Trump friend and leading candidate for secretary of state, Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, blasted U.S. funding for Ukraine.
“The American people want sovereignty protected here in America before we spend our funds and resources protecting the sovereignty of another nation,” Hagerty stated.
