An incoming adviser to Donald Trump has said that a call between the president-elect and Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected “in the coming days and weeks,” in an interview on ABC News.
Florida Representative Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, spoke about the president-elect’s plans to speak with the Russian president about ending the war in Ukraine, and “stabilizing things on the battlefield” by pushing Kyiv to lower the draft age.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump transition team for comment via email outside of business hours and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation via email.
Why It Matters
The fact that a call between Trump and Putin could take place in the “coming days and weeks” is significant because it would initiate an official start to peace negotiations and depending on how they go, a possible swift end to the war in Ukraine. Moreover, an initial phone call between the president-elect and the Russian president would indicate the start of their new working relationship during Trump’s second term.
What To Know
Discussing Trump’s plans to speak with Putin about the war in Ukraine, Waltz said that the “preparations are underway” but that the president-elect’s team have not “set an exact framework” or decided whether or not to include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The incoming national security adviser said that he “expects at least a call in the coming days and weeks.”
Describing the war as a “World War I style meat grinder of people and resources with World War III consequences,” the Florida congressman said that ahead of peace negotiations, Trump will try to establish a relationship and a dialogue with Russia, as he believes you cannot enter into a deal without those things. Waltz also spoke about how Trump’s team wants Ukraine to lower the draft age from 26 to 18 to “address their manpower shortages” and “stabilize the front lines.”
President Joe Biden’s administration also called on Ukraine to lower the draft age in November to boost its military. An unnamed senior Biden administration official said that Kyiv estimated that they needed 160,000 additional troops to fight Moscow, but the U.S. thought this was an underestimate.
Trump has recently said that a meeting between himself and Putin is being set up for after his inauguration on January 20, although he declined to name a specific date. The Kremlin has since denied these reports, and spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that they had received “no requests.” However, Peskov did specify that the Russian president would welcome a meeting.
Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, also appears to be making plans to facilitate peace negotiations between the warring countries soon after the president-elect’s inauguration. He recently said that he hopes to end the war in 100 days.
During his interview, Waltz said that Trump’s team would like to see a “ceasefire any minute, any day” as it would allow them to enter into a negotiating framework.
What People Are Saying
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the known international hacker group Anonymous wrote: “Putin and Trump meeting to speak about Ukraine without the involvement of Ukraine or other allies is not a negotiation for peace, it’s a negotiation for a division of spoils.”
Jürgen Nauditt, a pro-Ukraine X user, wrote: “Switzerland says it is ready to organize a meeting between Trump and putin.
“A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry recalled the Peace Summit that Ukraine held in Switzerland and explained that after it, Ukraine, russia and the United States were regularly informed of their ‘readiness to support any diplomatic efforts to establish peace.’
“Bidault assured that the arrest warrant for the Kremlin leader, issued by the International Criminal Court, will not be an obstacle to his potential arrival in Switzerland if it concerns peace talks.”
What Happens Next
Trump and Putin’s initial call before setting up peace negotiation meetings may dictate how talks with Ukraine play out, depending on how they go and where the two leaders’ relationship stands.
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