By Jasper Ward
(Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday he is going to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “very quickly” after he takes office next week.
He did not provide a timeline for the meeting, which would be the first between the leaders of the two countries since Russia’s war with Ukraine started in February 2022.
When asked about his strategy to end the war, Trump told Newsmax: “Well, there’s only one strategy and it’s up to Putin and I can’t imagine he’s too thrilled about the way it’s gone because it hasn’t gone exactly well for him either.
“And I know he wants to meet and I’m going to meet very quickly. I would’ve done it sooner but…you have to get into the office. For some of the things, you do have to be there.”
U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, said on Sunday he expected a call between Trump and Putin in “the coming days and weeks.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands of people dead, displaced millions and triggered the biggest rupture in relations between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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