Former President Donald Trump has spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, according to comments Trump made in an exclusive interview aboard Air Force One. The disclosure, which has not been confirmed by the Kremlin or U.S. officials, comes as Trump positions himself as a potential intermediary in the ongoing conflict.
"I'd better not say," Trump responded when asked how many times he and Putin had spoken. However, he insisted that the Russian leader "does care" about the war's toll, stating, "He wants to see people stop dying."
Trump emphasized his belief that the war, now in its third year, "never would have happened" had he been in office at the time of Russia's 2022 invasion. "I always had a good relationship with Putin," he said, adding that President Joe Biden had been "an embarrassment to our nation. A complete embarrassment."
The former president claimed he has a concrete plan to broker peace. "I hope it's fast. Every day people are dying. This war is so bad in Ukraine. I want to end this damn thing," he said, addressing National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who was present during the conversation. "Let's get these meetings going. They want to meet."
Vice President J.D. Vance is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference next week. Trump has indicated that as part of a potential settlement, he wants to secure a $500 million deal granting U.S. access to Ukraine's rare-earth minerals and gas reserves in exchange for security guarantees.
On Iran, Trump stated he prefers a diplomatic solution over military action. "I would like a deal done with Iran on non-nuclear. I would prefer that to bombing the hell out of it," he said. "They don't want to die. Nobody wants to die." While he did not provide details on potential negotiations, he hinted at a firm stance: "I could tell what I have to tell them, and I hope they decide that they're not going to do what they're currently thinking of doing."
The Kremlin has neither confirmed nor denied that a conversation between Trump and Putin took place. Asked about the reported call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told TASS state news agency, "I personally can not know something, not be aware of something. Therefore, in this case, I can't either confirm or deny this."
Peskov has previously refuted claims of communications between Trump and Putin but acknowledged that Moscow is awaiting "signals" from Washington on a possible formal meeting between the two leaders. He added that no official contact has yet been made by Trump's administration regarding such an arrangement.
Since returning to office, Trump has reiterated his stance that the United States should take a more direct role in brokering an end to the war. He has proposed leveraging economic deals with Ukraine and applying pressure on Russia to reach an agreement, though specifics remain unclear.
