Putin made a 2.5-hour call with Trump, some saw diplomatic victory in Russia
The host of Russian state media is full of expectations amid a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
A broadcaster 1 on the Russian Channel described it as “the most important telephone conversation in the modern world”.
When packing the 2½-hour phone call, Russian media quickly noticed that it was the longest media between the United States and the Russian president. That’s all, some people label it as a diplomatic victory.
“It’s official now: it’s the perfect phone conversation,” Kirill Dmitriev wrote Putin’s Special Envoy on International Economic Cooperation, X.
Although the White House and the Kremlin released few readings and only revealed the main gains the two sides wanted to propose, including a deal to stop attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Trump called the conversation “very good”, and the Kremlin noted that both leaders understand and trust each other.
It is a blunt sign of warm relations between Washington and Moscow and reaffirms the opportunity envisioned by Russia and the Trump administration, which can surpass the Ukrainian battlefield.
Its existing negative relations with the West deteriorated sharply after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It became a pariah in some geopolitical circles, and the continuous sanctions were mostly isolated from European and North American markets.
“Russia is in a terrible economic situation … but it is the price Russia pays for Putin’s ambitions.
Bondarev believes Putin plans to stop his war on Ukraine and is likely just waiting for what the Trump administration offers.
Warm relationship
The Kremlin said on the phone that the two leaders discussed the need to improve bilateral relations and seek economic cooperation, and they may even arrange international hockey games between the two sides.
At a time when most Russian teams are currently banned from international competitions, it is an attempt to restart historical competition through sports diplomacy.
Putin disagrees with the U.S. proposal for a completely unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, but he said he supports smaller measures to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.
The Kremlin, after a lengthy call between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a U.S.-backed proposal that Russia and Ukraine stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days.
However, both Ukraine and Russia launched air strikes overnight and accused each other of hitting energy sites.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 150 drones overnight, including some drones targeting energy facilities. Zelenskyy said two Ukrainian hospitals were attacked in the attack.
During the call with Trump, Putin seemed to reiterate all his ceasefire conditions, including blocking all Western military aid to Ukraine and pauses in intelligence sharing.
But in an interview with Fox News, Trump said no discussion on military aid was discussed.
Although the exact details of the dialogue are unclear, it seems that he has not been forced to abandon his so-called conditions for ending the war, and the two sides have said they will continue to negotiate in Ukraine.
The White House and the Kremlin also said leaders talked about the crisis in the Middle East. Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political expert and founder of the analysis firm R. Politik, said this marked a clear victory for Putin because it shows that there may be US-Russia cooperation on key international issues.
“The process of separating the Ukrainian issue from broader U.S. bilateral relations are strengthening,” she wrote on the social media platform Telegraph.
“Putin managed to reject a proposal for a complete ceasefire while turning the situation into his advantage without concessions.”
Economic potential
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that both Putin and Trump were aware of the “huge potential” of many joint business projects.
Special Envoy Dmitriev meditated at a business forum on Wednesday to learn about the improved relationship with Washington.
After addressing oligarchs and entrepreneurs on Wednesday, Dmitriev told reporters that many U.S. companies that left the Russian market in 2022 will seek to return, and the best way is to work with Russian companies.
He said Russian Space Agency Roscosmos is interested in meeting with Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX (and Trump’s Ministry of Efficiency) to collaborate on research, including the possibility of flying to Mars.
Dmitriev, who also leads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, said the country wants to develop its rare earth minerals and wants companion The company that the United States wants to invest in.
When Putin spoke publicly about the U.S. ceasefire proposal in Ukraine last week, he talked about the way Washington and Moscow was Can cooperate on energy projectswhich could lead to another natural gas pipeline in Europe.
Putin could have referenced Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline running between Russia and Germany and Explosion in the fall of 2022.
There have been many reports in recent days, including Financial Times and German newspapers Bildwhich suggests there is a plan to restart the pipeline, which may be in investments in U.S. companies. But Germany says it’s Not participating In any negotiation with Revive Nord Stream 2.
The Kremlin’s agenda
Anna Matveeva, a visiting senior researcher at King’s College in London, said some in Russia suddenly turned the relationship into a “light of hope” after years of negative atmosphere between the United States and Russia.
But she said that given the hope that some people during Trump’s first president, others in the country might be more cautious, but he was disappointed when he approved it Other sanctions Oppose Russia after pressure from the U.S. Congress in 2019.
She said that while the phone call with Trump gave Putin a chance to clarify his situation around Ukraine again, she said Ukraine was not the main focus of the Kremlin.
“They want to keep Ukrainian topics away from it. … because they want to continue to accept things that are more important to them,” she said in an interview with CBC News. “The Kremlin’s agenda is very large…including the normalization of bilateral relations.”
She said the effort was fit to encourage joint activities, such as the hockey game proposed by Putin.
The Kremlin said Trump supports the idea, and Russian sports minister said on Wednesday that he is working to bring together NHL and Russian KHL players.
“Economic measures, culture and sports – it’s a way to gradually rebuild relationships,” Matveeva said.
