Trump holds phone call with Putin before talks with Zelensky
13 oC
13 oC
Güneşli
13 oC
Güneşli
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Dec. 28 that he held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of a scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, describing the conversation as “good and very productive.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the call took place earlier in the day before the start of his official talks with the Ukrainian delegation. “I just had a good and very productive phone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine,” he wrote.
The Kremlin later confirmed the conversation. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the call to Russian state media, while Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the discussion lasted just over an hour and was initiated by the U.S. side.
Ushakov added that Trump and Putin agreed to speak again after Trump concludes his meetings with the Ukrainian delegation. The two leaders also agreed to establish two working groups focused on security and economic issues. The call marked the ninth conversation between Trump and Putin since the beginning of 2025.
Trump said his meeting with Zelensky is scheduled to take place later on Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, with members of the press present. He added that the meeting will be followed by a joint phone call with European leaders.
Zelensky is expected to be accompanied by several senior Ukrainian officials, including National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev, Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov, First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Oleksandr Bevz, a non-staff adviser in the President’s Office.
In comments to reporters on Dec. 26, Zelensky said discussions with the U.S. side would focus on security guarantees, economic cooperation, and unresolved issues, including the status of the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The talks come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to address the war in Ukraine and broader regional security concerns. (ILKHA)
LEGAL WARNING: All rights of the published news, photos and videos are reserved by İlke Haber Ajansı Basın Yayın San. Trade A.Ş. Under no circumstances can all or part of the news, photos and videos be used without a written contract or subscription.
Voting in the first phase of Myanmar’s general election — the first since the military coup in February 2021 — concluded on Sunday, state media and observers reported, as the junta-organized polls continued amid civil war, political repression and widespread international criticism.
At least nine people have been killed and several others injured after explosions struck the Magami–Dansadau Road in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Nigeria, in a suspected bandit attack on Saturday afternoon.
A Palestinian child has lost his life in the northern Gaza Strip after falling into a rainwater-filled channel, as a powerful winter storm battered the besieged enclave and highlighted the deadly consequences of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on civilian life.
