Trump ‘Looking Forward’ to Call with Putin on Ukraine’s Future

U.S. President Donald Trump expresses eagerness for a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Ukraine’s future.

Donald Trump expressed that he is “very much” anticipating a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the future of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has announced that the call is scheduled to occur between 13:00 and 15:00 GMT today, focusing on discussions about “normalizing” US-Russian relations.

Before the call with Putin, Trump mentioned he intends to talk about “land,” “power plants,” and “the division of specific assets.”

What is Putin seeking from the call? Our Eastern Europe correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, shares her perspective.

As anticipation mounts before his important phone call with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin is speaking at a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow.

Once more, he labeled the sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine as “illegitimate.” The Russian president stated that threats of sanctions will perpetually loom over Russia because “our competitors will always seek to contain our country and diminish its economic and technological potential.”

Earlier today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that the call between Putin and Trump was anticipated to occur sometime around 16:00-18:00 Moscow time, which corresponds to 13:00-15:00 GMT.

A calm-looking Putin continues to speak at the meeting, which is being broadcast by Russian state television.

The UK Prime Minister had a conversation with Donald Trump last night before the US President’s call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin today.

Keir Starmer informed Trump that Ukraine needs to be placed in the “strongest possible position” to achieve a “just and lasting peace” in its conflict with Russia.

The official spokesperson for the prime minister reported that Keir Starmer also “briefed the president on his Saturday call with international leaders from his coalition of willing participants.”

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy for international economic and investment cooperation, has indicated that Moscow is contemplating a possible agreement with the United States to extract rare earth elements in Russia.

In comments reported by the Reuters news agency, Dmitriev—who leads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund—stated that Russia possesses larger deposits of rare earths compared to Ukraine. He added that Moscow is interested in involving American companies.

He adds that numerous forces were attempting to hinder Donald Trump’s initiatives to reestablish dialogue with Russia, though he did not provide specifics.

Dmitriev also mentioned plans to collaborate with the US on space exploration, expressing his anticipation for discussions with Elon Musk concerning a mission to Mars.