MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin informed the President of the United States, Donald Trump, that he is willing to receive Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Moscow to address the war conflict that has been open for more than four years.
“If Volodymyr Zelensky begins to open up again for a meeting with the Russian president, then he should go to Moscow because he is the one who asks for the meeting,” Putin said during the conversation with Trump, reported Putin’s advisor, Yuri Ushakov, reported by the Russian press.
Putin called Trump to congratulate him on his 80th birthday, the Kremlin reported, noting that the American president was moved and excited because, he said, he was the first foreign leader to call him.
“The conversation was friendly and frank. It lasted about an hour. In case you want to know the exact duration, it was 55 minutes,” Ushakov said. Putin also conveyed his best wishes to the first lady, Melania Trump, and highlighted her work to reunite Russian and Ukrainian minors with their families.
Management to end the war
Ushakov reported that Trump and Putin also discussed bilateral relations and the international situation. Specifically, Trump pledged to influence America’s European allies to end hostilities in Ukraine.
“Trump once again stressed the need to put an end to military actions. He has expressed his willingness to influence his European partners and kyiv even from the next G7 summit” scheduled for this week in Évian, France.
Trump also expressed his concern about the latest Ukrainian attacks against civilian targets in Russia that would be making an agreement difficult. At that point, Putin stressed that “if there are no attacks by the kyiv regime against civilian infrastructure in Russia, Ukraine’s situation on the battlefield will change dramatically.”
The Kremlin also reported the imminent arrival of the United States special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Russia.
This is the second telephone conversation between Trump and Putin so far this year, after the one held on April 29 at the initiative of Moscow. Then the conversation lasted approximately an hour and a half in which Putin proposed to Trump a truce for Victory Day on which the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II is celebrated in Russia.
