MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will speak with US President Donald Trump by phone on Thursday, their first publicly announced call in over two weeks. The call comes as Washington continues its unsuccessful efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine.
It will be the sixth publicly known conversation between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House in January and comes amid so far unsuccessful US efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Putin did not say what the two would discuss in Thursday’s call.
“I will talk to the US president today,” the Russian leader told the media during a visit to an exhibition centre in Moscow, AFP reported.
Trump confirmed the call on Truth Social, saying it would start at 10.00 am (1400 GMT). “Will be speaking to President Putin of Russia at 10:00 A.M. Thank you!” Trump announced.
The two leaders have praised each other in recent weeks, despite the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Putin said last week that he had “great respect” for Trump and that US ties were improving. Trump said Putin’s statements were “very nice”.
Trump is also likely to hold a call with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The calls follow a decision by the Trump administration earlier this week to pause the transfer of artillery rounds and air defences to Ukraine, a move that caught Kyiv and allies off guard.
The White House has said the halt to weapons deliveries came after a review of US munitions stockpiles and concerns that those levels had fallen too low.
Among the weapons that are being paused are 155mm artillery shells and Patriot air-defence batteries, Bloomberg reported.
Trump entered office pledging to quickly end the war in Ukraine but those efforts have failed to gain traction, with Putin refusing calls for a halt to the fighting and rejecting requests to meet face-to-face with Zelensky.
Lower-level discussions between Russia and Ukraine have seen prisoner exchanges but have not secured a larger breakthrough to bring the war to a close.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated, suggesting at times that he is willing to walk away from his efforts if he does not believe the two countries are serious about seeking peace.
That prospect has alarmed Kyiv’s allies, who fear that Trump may abandon Ukraine. Trump has also been unwilling to pledge US support for any potential security force to help maintain a future ceasefire.
The US president has already indicated that he won’t renew US military support for Ukraine, which is due to run out this summer.
