Trump talks with Putin and warns against escalation in Ukraine

US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him to avoid an escalation in Ukraine , the Washington Post reported Sunday.

Trump had the conversation with Putin on Thursday from Mar-a-Lago in the state of Florida, just days after defeating Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential election, according to the media.

Representatives for the president-elect did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

The Washington Post, citing several sources familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trump reminded Putin of the large U.S. military presence in Europe.

The president-elect also expressed interest in future talks to discuss “the solution to the war in Ukraine soon .”

Trump’s election is seen as an opportunity to turn the tide in the Ukraine conflict, after he offered during his campaign to bring a swift end to the nearly three-year conflict and questioned Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, a conversation that also included billionaire Elon Musk.

“We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation,” Zelensky said.

Any quick deal is expected to require kyiv to cede some of the territory it has lost to Russia’s invasion in the south and east of the country, but Zelenki rejects such a proposal, saying it would only embolden the Kremlin and provoke further aggression.

Sources familiar with Thursday’s conversation said Trump briefly touched on territory.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan , said the White House wants to “put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that, ultimately, they’re in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.”

And that could include using the remaining $6 billion in financing available to Ukraine, Sullivan said.

kyiv, facing a troop shortage and uncertainty over U.S. support, has opposed such a deal.

Earlier this week, Putin praised Trump for being “brave” after an assassination attempt in July and said he was “ready” to talk.

End of the war

During the campaign, Trump called for an end to the war in Ukraine even before he was sworn in as president on January 20, but he has never explained how he would achieve that goal.

Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., shared a clip on Instagram on Saturday showing Zelensky alongside the president-elect with the caption: “POV: You’re 38 days away from losing your subsidy.”

As part of the offensive by both sides, the Russian military launched 145 drones against Ukraine this weekend, Zelensky said. Russia, for its part, said on Sunday that it had shot down 34 Ukrainian drones targeting the Moscow region.