Maintaining Contact with Putin Would Be 'Smart,' Says Trump
Donald Trump has not explicitly confirmed or denied whether he has spoken with the Russian president since leaving the White House. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Former US President Donald Trump did not confirm or deny whether he has contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office in 2021 but indicated that it would have been “a smart thing” to do. Trump has consistently expressed his intent to leverage his “great relationship” with Putin to bring an end to the Ukraine conflict if he is elected next month.
In Bob Woodward’s recently published book, ‘War’, it is alleged that Trump communicated with Putin seven times since leaving office and also sent Covid-19 testing equipment to Russia during his presidency in 2020.
Initially, Trump’s campaign dismissed Woodward’s claims, stating, “none of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true.” However, during an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait, Trump adopted a less definite stance.
“I don’t comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing,” Trump remarked. “If I’m friendly with people, if I can have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing, in terms of a country…he’s got 2,000 nuclear weapons and so do we.”
Trump asserts that the Ukraine conflict would not have started if he had won the 2020 election, attributing Putin’s actions to what he labeled as President Joe Biden’s “stupid words” that provoked the Russian offensive in February 2022. He has repeatedly stated that the open-ended support promised by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for Ukraine could lead the US into “World War III.”
After a recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump claimed he has a “very good relationship” with both Zelensky and Putin, pledging to “get [the Ukraine conflict] resolved very quickly” should he win the upcoming election.
According to his running mate, J.D. Vance, Trump would likely initiate discussions with Russia, Ukraine, and European stakeholders to create a demilitarized zone along the current front line, with Ukraine agreeing to stay out of NATO.
The Kremlin has expressed skepticism regarding Trump’s peace promises. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that he does not “think there is a magic wand” that can immediately end the fighting. Peskov also confirmed last week that Trump did send Covid-19 tests to Russia in 2020, but added, “But about the phone calls – it’s not true.”
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
In Bob Woodward’s recently published book, ‘War’, it is alleged that Trump communicated with Putin seven times since leaving office and also sent Covid-19 testing equipment to Russia during his presidency in 2020.
Initially, Trump’s campaign dismissed Woodward’s claims, stating, “none of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true.” However, during an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait, Trump adopted a less definite stance.
“I don’t comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing,” Trump remarked. “If I’m friendly with people, if I can have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing, in terms of a country…he’s got 2,000 nuclear weapons and so do we.”
Trump asserts that the Ukraine conflict would not have started if he had won the 2020 election, attributing Putin’s actions to what he labeled as President Joe Biden’s “stupid words” that provoked the Russian offensive in February 2022. He has repeatedly stated that the open-ended support promised by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for Ukraine could lead the US into “World War III.”
After a recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump claimed he has a “very good relationship” with both Zelensky and Putin, pledging to “get [the Ukraine conflict] resolved very quickly” should he win the upcoming election.
According to his running mate, J.D. Vance, Trump would likely initiate discussions with Russia, Ukraine, and European stakeholders to create a demilitarized zone along the current front line, with Ukraine agreeing to stay out of NATO.
The Kremlin has expressed skepticism regarding Trump’s peace promises. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that he does not “think there is a magic wand” that can immediately end the fighting. Peskov also confirmed last week that Trump did send Covid-19 tests to Russia in 2020, but added, “But about the phone calls – it’s not true.”
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
