Trump says he spoke to Putin about Ukraine

In an interview published on February 8 by The New York Post, Trump did not indicate when the conversation took place, nor did he give details about its contents.

The Post said that the interview was conducted on February 7th as Trump was traveling with the presidential plane Air Force One.

“He wants to stop seeing people die”, Trump was quoted as saying.

Every day people are dying. This war is so bad in Ukraine. I want to put an end to this damn”, he said.

When asked how many times the two leaders had spoken, he replied: “better not say”.

I've always had a good relationship with Putin”, he said.

Free Europe Radio sent an email to the White House, requesting confirmation of the report, but received no immediate response.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is possible that the two leaders have spoken.

“While the administration in Washington is performing its affairs, many different types of communications are also being shown, and these communications are made through different channels”, Peskov told reporters on February 9th.

Of course, in the background of these many communications, I, personally, may not know something or be unaware of something. Therefore, in this case I cannot confirm or deny”, Peskov added.

Even before taking office on January 20th, Trump pledged that he would end the conflict in Ukraine, where, according to Western estimates, more than 1 million soldiers have been killed or wounded on both sides.

Trump's top aides for national security have said publicly that US officials will try to encourage Moscow and Kiev to negotiate a ceasefire.

The White House's top envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky at the Security Conference in Munich, which opens the works on February 14th.

On 7 February, Trump said he would likely meet Zelensky next week. He gave no further details, but said the meeting can be held in Washington, as “I will not go to Kiev”.

Trump and members of his administration have provided little details about any specific proposal for the outcome of the war, but Kellogg said late that both sides would need “to provide little”, which means to make compromises.

Meanwhile, in Kiev, Ukrainian officials are carefully monitoring the rise in pressure for talks with Moscow, which would most likely be monitored by the US.

Until recently, Putin has said he considers Zelensky an illegal president and that he will not negotiate with him, but, meanwhile, has eased that stance.

The interview report comes ahead of the meeting, which is expected to hold US vice president, J.D. Vance, with Zelensky, during the Munich Security Conference.

Zelensky has voiced confidence that Trump could pressure Putin to end the war, which has started on February 24th, 2022.

In part of the interview with the New York Post, Trump, as well, said he “would like an agreement with Iran” for his nuclear programme, aimed at avoiding the escalation of tensions with Tehran.

Trump refused to give any details of what the deal with Iran would look like.

On February 7th, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ajatolah Ali Khamenei, dismissed the possibility of nuclear negotiations with the United States, insisting that negotiations would not address Iran's problems.

Trump signed an order February 4th to restore his <x0-economic maximum expectations against Iran, aimed at damaging its oil exports and slow down its nuclear programme, which Tehran claims is for civilian purposes. /Radio Europe Free