Putin “ready” to talk to Trump, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin is “ready” to speak on the phone with Donald Trump and is waiting for a response from Washington, D.C., according to the Kremlin.
Government spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the announcement on January 24, after the new U.S. president said on Thursday that he wants to meet with Putin soon to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Reuters.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump transition team and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for comment via email.
Gavriil Grigorov/Associated Press
Why It Matters
Both sides have repeatedly said that they are ready to speak and commence peace negotiations, waiting for signals from the other. However, as the Kremlin has said that they are “waiting for signals” from Washington, it suggests that the ball is in Trump’s court, and it is up to him to begin steps to deescalate the war.
What to Know
When asked if Trump and the Russian president would conduct a phone call this weekend, Peskov said that “Putin is ready. We are waiting for signals (from Washington). Everyone is ready. It is difficult to read the coffee grounds here. As soon as there is something, if there is something, we will inform you.”
He added that the war with Ukraine does not depend on world oil prices and that it began because of a threat to Russia’s security, according to a post on Telegram by the newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The Kremlin’s statement about oil was in reference to Trump’s comments at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 23, in which he called on Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase oil production in order to reduce its price.
He said: “Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue. You gotta bring down the oil price, that will end that war. You could end that war.”
This statement came after the American president threatened to impose sanctions and tariffs on Russia, targeting oil trade, if Putin does not end the war with Ukraine.
Trump also spoke about denuclearizing Russia at the meeting in Switzerland, and Peskov said: “there is something to talk about, we need to talk. Time has been lost in many respects. We have spoken about such interest before, so the ball is in the court of the U.S., which has stopped all substantive contacts with our country.”
Soon after Trump’s inauguration, Putin also said that he is willing to enter peace negotiations with the new administration if they “eliminate the root causes” of the war.
What People Are Saying
In a post on X, Tymofiy Mylovanov, the president of the Kyiv School of Economics, wrote: “Trump appears to have fallen for Ukraine: cooperating with Saudis to drop oil prices and hit Russia, pressing Xi to push Putin, says Zelensky ready to negotiate while Putin resists, NATO countries move to 5% defense spending, and (ouch!) Putin’s election results are frankly absurd.”
On the subject of nuclear disarmament, Ben Aris, a former reporter focused on Russia, wrote on X: “seems to me that Putin is signalling to Trump that he is willing to make ‘a deal’ Peskov saying Kremlin opening to restart missile control deals remember very first thing Biden did in 2021 in first week was renew Start III missile deal – first Cold War era arms deal to be renewed. it was seen as a breakthru at the time. now Putin is offering to start Trumps presidency in the same war….”
What Happens Next
It is not yet known when Putin and Trump will speak, and when the new U.S. president will call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose team has also said that his administration is working to arrange a meeting with Washington, according to the Kyiv Independent.
