Russia Kremlin open to phone call between Putin and Trump

According to the Kremlin, it is open to a telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump. "That is not out of the question," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Trump had said that he wanted to call Putin before his inauguration in January, Peskov continued. He and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained that Russia would not take the first step because it was Washington, not Moscow, that had broken off relations.

There is radio silence between Putin and US President Joe Biden due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Diplomatic relations are at an all-time low. There has recently been contact between Moscow and Washington via mediators, for example in the exchange of prisoners. The military leaderships of both countries have also spoken on the phone sporadically recently.

During the election campaign, Trump claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine quickly, possibly even before his inauguration on January 20. Critics have long accused the 78-year-old Republican of being too close to Russia and Putin in particular.

SDA