Mr. Trump affirmed that Mr. Putin will not talk with EU leaders.
The US president said many top Western officials are urging him to maintain contact with the Kremlin.
US President Donald Trump said that European Union (EU) leaders are urgently asking him to continue maintaining diplomatic channels with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as the Kremlin is said to be unresponsive to their calls.
The Trump administration is currently acting as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, in an effort to push for a resolution to the ongoing conflict. Most European NATO members have pledged continued military support to Kiev, with some even considering deploying troops to the region.
Mr. Trump emphasized his role as intermediary in an interview with NBC News on May 4, saying: “The European Union leaders asked me to call Mr. Putin many times. Because he didn’t answer their phones.”
He also said that his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, had no contact with Mr. Putin at all, apparently referring to the period after the conflict in Ukraine escalated in February 2022. President Trump said that his administration was “closer to one side, and maybe not as close to the other side” in reaching a peace agreement, but did not specify which side.
Moscow has long expressed a desire to resolve its differences with the West through diplomatic means, although its proposals regarding NATO expansion in Europe were rejected in 2021. The Russian government has been willing to engage with EU leaders, especially German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who called Putin last November, a move that was criticized by Kiev as an appeasement of Russia.
President Putin declared at a government meeting in February that Russia pursues an indivisible security framework in Europe, in which the security of one country cannot be achieved by harming the security of another.
“We understand that not everyone will welcome the restoration of communication channels between Russia and the United States. Some elements in the Western elite are intent on maintaining global instability, and such forces will seek to sabotage or prevent our dialogue,” he added.
In March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for repeatedly publicly declaring his readiness to negotiate directly with Mr. Putin but never doing so.
