Putin assures Trump of peaceful intentions towards Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged peaceful intentions towards Europe in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump. Even if there is speculation to the contrary, Russia has "no aggressive plans" against the European continent, Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov told media representatives after the conversation.

The two presidents spoke to each other “extremely openly” for an hour and primarily discussed the situation in Ukraine, Ushakov said. Putin gave Trump an “objective and detailed analysis of what was happening on the battlefield” and explained what the USA “can actually do to bring an early end to the fighting.” However, he did not elaborate on what this might mean in detail.

The conversation followed a trip by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner to Russia last weekend. They were seen as an attempt to revive the recently deadlocked talks between the USA and Russia about an end to the Ukraine war. Ushakov said the visit was viewed positively in Moscow.