Donald Trump wasted little time after his election victory reaching out to the leaders of the Ukraine-Russia war.
On Thursday, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday.
The Washington Post reported that during the phone call with Putin, Trump “advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of Washington's significant military presence in Europe. “They discussed peace in Europe and an end to the war in Ukraine,” said a person familiar with the talks.
The talks appear to have had no immediate effect, as the warring countries exchanged salvos of drone strikes over the weekend, resulting in the closure of Moscow's main airport.
President-elect Trump has reportedly met with several other world leaders, about 70 of them, since his election victory.
Bypass status
President Trump has been speaking with world leaders without involving the State Department. His team has not signed an agreement with the General Services Administration, which is standard during presidential transitions. His team's reasoning seems justified.
“President Trump and his top aides are distrustful of career government officials after phone records from his first term were leaked,” the Post reported.
Initially, Russia was at odds following President Trump's victory, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters that Putin was “an unfriendly party who is directly or indirectly involved in a war against our country.” He said he has no plans to invite the next president to any country. But by Thursday, Putin congratulated Trump on his victory, praised Trump's “manly” response to the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and said he was ready to talk to Trump.
Unlike Biden, Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war. He complained about the cost to U.S. taxpayers and the number of deaths it caused in both countries.
Experts say that if a deal is reached, it would almost certainly include Ukraine's withdrawal without Crimea, an idea that President Trump has expressed support for.
