US President-elect Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin this past Thursday and discussed the war in Ukraine, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.
According to sources cited by the Post, during their exchange, Trump cautioned Putin against intensifying the conflict in Ukraine, while emphasizing "Washington's sizeable military presence in Europe."
The two leaders discussed the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon,” some of the sources told the newspaper.
Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Trump had repeatedly stated he would resolve the conflict "within a day," though specific details of this plan were never disclosed.
The call, which has not been previously reported, comes after Trump told NBC on Thursday that he had spoken to about 70 world leaders since the election, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian officials have been informed of the Putin call and did not object to the conversation taking place, said two sources familiar with the matter. Ukrainian officials have long understood that Trump would engage with Putin on a diplomatic solution for Ukraine, they added.
In his first public comments on this week’s US election, Putin on Thursday congratulated Trump on his victory and commended Trump’s courage during the assassination attempt against him last July.
“His behavior at the moment of an attempt on his life left an impression on me. He turned out to be a brave man," Putin said, adding, "He manifested himself in the very correct way, bravely as a man.”
That same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted earlier on Thursday that contact between Putin and Trump before the inauguration hasn’t been ruled out, given Trump’s comment that he intended to call Putin prior to taking office.