Trump Announces Intent to Speak with Putin
The US president-elect expressed optimism about future communication, stating, “I think we’ll speak,” during an interview with NBC News following Vladimir Putin's declaration of his willingness to engage in dialogue. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
“I think we’ll speak,” the US president-elect has told NBC News.
US President-elect Donald Trump indicated that he has not yet communicated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he anticipates a conversation in the near future. Putin had previously expressed his willingness to engage in dialogue with Trump.
In a Thursday interview with NBC News, Trump revealed he had spoken with “probably” 70 world leaders since his electoral victory, but noted that Putin was not among them. Nonetheless, he remarked, “I think we’ll speak.”
Just before that, during a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi, Putin congratulated Trump on his election win and expressed his openness to a phone call with the president-elect, stating, “It wouldn’t be beneath me to call him myself.”
During his campaign, Trump asserted his intent to quickly resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict if elected, pledging to communicate with both Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to facilitate this resolution. However, he provided limited specifics on how he planned to achieve this, and the Kremlin reacted cautiously, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov noting last month that he does not “think there is a magic wand” that can halt the hostilities immediately.
Moscow insists that any settlement necessitates Ukraine halting military actions and accepting the “territorial reality” that it will not regain control over Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye, and Crimea. Additionally, the Kremlin maintains that the objectives of its military operation—specifically, ensuring Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification—must be fulfilled.
Putin remarked on Thursday that he takes Trump’s statements earnestly, asserting that his proposals for conflict resolution “deserve attention, at the very least.”
The two leaders previously met in Helsinki in 2018 and again at the G-20 summit in Osaka the following year. Trump’s first presidential term was overshadowed by unfounded allegations of colluding with Russia to influence the 2016 election, and he faced significant backlash from the US media for engaging with Putin.
“During his first presidency…he was harassed by everyone on all sides, he was bullied, he was afraid of making a step to the left, to the right, saying the wrong thing,” Putin commented. “I don’t know what’s going to happen now during his new presidency. Whatever he does is up to him.”
Recently, journalist Bob Woodward alleged that Trump had clandestinely spoken with Putin seven times since leaving office in 2021. Peskov denied that such calls occurred, while Trump maintained a more ambiguous stance, stating, “I don’t comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing.” He added that fostering friendly relationships is beneficial for a country, noting, “he’s got 2,000 nuclear weapons and so do we.”
James del Carmen for TROIB News
US President-elect Donald Trump indicated that he has not yet communicated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he anticipates a conversation in the near future. Putin had previously expressed his willingness to engage in dialogue with Trump.
In a Thursday interview with NBC News, Trump revealed he had spoken with “probably” 70 world leaders since his electoral victory, but noted that Putin was not among them. Nonetheless, he remarked, “I think we’ll speak.”
Just before that, during a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi, Putin congratulated Trump on his election win and expressed his openness to a phone call with the president-elect, stating, “It wouldn’t be beneath me to call him myself.”
During his campaign, Trump asserted his intent to quickly resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict if elected, pledging to communicate with both Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to facilitate this resolution. However, he provided limited specifics on how he planned to achieve this, and the Kremlin reacted cautiously, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov noting last month that he does not “think there is a magic wand” that can halt the hostilities immediately.
Moscow insists that any settlement necessitates Ukraine halting military actions and accepting the “territorial reality” that it will not regain control over Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye, and Crimea. Additionally, the Kremlin maintains that the objectives of its military operation—specifically, ensuring Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification—must be fulfilled.
Putin remarked on Thursday that he takes Trump’s statements earnestly, asserting that his proposals for conflict resolution “deserve attention, at the very least.”
The two leaders previously met in Helsinki in 2018 and again at the G-20 summit in Osaka the following year. Trump’s first presidential term was overshadowed by unfounded allegations of colluding with Russia to influence the 2016 election, and he faced significant backlash from the US media for engaging with Putin.
“During his first presidency…he was harassed by everyone on all sides, he was bullied, he was afraid of making a step to the left, to the right, saying the wrong thing,” Putin commented. “I don’t know what’s going to happen now during his new presidency. Whatever he does is up to him.”
Recently, journalist Bob Woodward alleged that Trump had clandestinely spoken with Putin seven times since leaving office in 2021. Peskov denied that such calls occurred, while Trump maintained a more ambiguous stance, stating, “I don’t comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing.” He added that fostering friendly relationships is beneficial for a country, noting, “he’s got 2,000 nuclear weapons and so do we.”
James del Carmen for TROIB News
