Trump and Putin eye significant talks amid Ukraine tensions
Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that both "will do something significant." However, he did not provide details. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov assured of the Russians' readiness.
During Friday's ceremony of Doug Burgum's confirmation as Secretary of the Interior, Donald Trump emphasised that the goal of the talks is to end the war in Ukraine.
- We will be speaking, and I think will perhaps do something that’ll be significant. We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president - said the US President on Friday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the TASS agency, confirmed Russia's readiness to engage in dialogue at the presidential level. However, as he noted, Russia has not yet received an official signal from Washington.
Losses in the Ukraine conflict
In an interview with domestic media, Vladimir Putin emphasised "good relations" with Donald Trump. He described the American politician as a "wise and pragmatic man" with whom one can discuss many topics.
The Russian leader stated that Russia and the US have many significant issues to discuss, including nuclear arms control and economic matters. However, he believes peace talks with Ukraine are currently impossible because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has excluded negotiations.
President Trump assessed that, as a result of Russia's armed aggression on Ukraine, Russia has lost approximately 800,000 soldiers, and Ukraine has lost between 600,000 and 700,000.
