Operation "Calls": Insights from Trump's interactions with Zelensky and Putin.
Various rumors regarding whether Donald Trump spoke with Putin began immediately after the Republican's election in November last year and intensified after his inauguration on January 20.
On February 9, the New York Post, citing an exclusive interview with the head of the White House, reported that he had already spoken with the Kremlin dictator on the phone to try to negotiate an end to the Russian-Ukrainian war. However, the publication did not provide details of the conversation, and the Kremlin commented on the assertion as vaguely as possible.
By February 11, U.S. presidential advisor and close Trump friend Steve Witkoff unexpectedly flew to Moscow and, according to The Washington Post, spoke with Putin for three hours (after this information emerged, Peskov stated that he had "nothing to say" on the subject). The outcome of the visit was the release of American Mark Vogel, who was serving a sentence in Russia for drug smuggling. Donald Trump viewed this move as a gesture of goodwill, demonstrating Moscow's willingness to negotiate, including on the issue of ending the "special military operation." He stated that in exchange for Mark Vogel's release, Moscow received "a little." Meanwhile, on Wednesday, February 12, it became clear that the exchange with Russia was indeed reciprocal. In particular, according to the aforementioned Putin's spokesperson Peskov, a certain Russian citizen will soon be released from an American prison. Reuters and several other Western media reported that this refers to Alexander Vinnik, who was accused in the U.S. of money laundering.
Against this backdrop, the first official phone contact took place on the evening of February 12 between the old-new master of the White House and the unchanging occupant of the Kremlin.
Donald Trump was the first to report on the conversation. "I just had a long and very productive phone call with President of Russia Vladimir Putin," he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. According to Trump, they discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, "the strength of the dollar, and many other topics." Peskov soon confirmed the fact of the conversation, mentioning among the topics prisoner exchanges, the Iranian nuclear program, and various forms of cooperation between Russia and the U.S.
"First and foremost, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths in the war between Russia and Ukraine," Mr. Trump wrote. They, Trump claims, agreed for their teams to "immediately begin negotiations" to end the war. Peskov said that in response to Trump's words about a possible peace with Ukraine, Putin mentioned "the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be achieved through peaceful negotiations."
It was also noted that Putin expressed readiness to welcome American officials to Russia, including those who will be dealing with Ukraine. However, Peskov did not directly mention the possible imminent start of negotiations.
Trump stated that he would be calling President Volodymyr Zelensky "right now" to inform him about his conversation with Putin. Soon after speaking with the Kremlin dictator, Trump, as promised, spoke with the current occupant of Bankova Street. The conversation reportedly lasted about an hour. Zelensky himself confirmed on social media that the conversation took place, but described it in very general terms. "I just spoke with Donald Trump. It was a lengthy conversation. About the possibility of achieving peace. About our readiness to work together at the team level. About our technological capabilities, particularly drones and other modern productions. I am grateful to President Trump for his interest in what we can do together. President Trump informed me about the details of his conversation with Putin. Ukraine wants peace more than anyone. We are defining our common steps with America to stop Russian aggression and guarantee a reliable, lasting peace. As President Trump said, let’s get it done. We agreed on further contacts and meetings," emphasized the current guarantor of the Ukrainian Constitution. In turn, Trump stated that his conversation with the Ukrainian counterpart went "very well" and added, "He, like President Putin, wants to make peace. We discussed many issues related to the war, but mainly the meeting that will take place on Friday in Munich, where Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the delegation (at the Munich Security Conference)." I hope that the results of this meeting will be positive.
Neither Zelensky nor Trump reported any conditions for a peace agreement or preliminary arrangements. Meanwhile, it is known that Donald Trump assigned Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Representative Steve Witkoff to lead the negotiations from the American side. Surprisingly, the name of the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia, Kurt Volker, is absent from the shortlist of negotiators. At the same time, many other individuals will be involved in the process. For instance, on February 12, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was in Kyiv. During his visit to the Ukrainian capital, he stated that Donald Trump plans to act "very quickly" to achieve peace.
Returning to Trump's call with Putin, specifically the international reaction to this event, it is worth noting that Europe has made it clear that they do not feel excessive optimism just yet. For example, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that over the past three years, "everyone but Putin" has been ready for peace. Her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot emphasized that Europe must play an important role in the peace settlement process, ensuring that Russia does not "start a new conflict" afterward.
Already after the phone calls with Zelensky and Putin, the U.S. president made a series of statements from the White House. In particular, Trump said that: Ukraine's NATO membership is "unlikely and impractical"; some of the territories lost by Ukraine might be returned; a return to Ukraine's borders from 2014 is unlikely; direct U.S.-Russia dialogue without Volodymyr Zelensky does not pose a threat; Ukraine will have to hold presidential elections one day;
Additionally, the current occupant of the Oval Office emphasized that the United States will continue to assist Ukraine, "but we want this assistance to be provided under guarantees of return on investments to support Ukraine.
Finally, Trump revealed that he intends to meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia and also expects the Kremlin leader to visit the U.S., and he himself intends, firstly, to visit the aggressor country, and secondly, to "communicate frequently" with Putin by phone.
Emphasizing that the negotiation process has begun, political scientist Vadim Denisov stated: "Now there is approximately three months during which it will become clear whether this round of negotiations will be productive. Some write: Trump called first, therefore Putin won. This is idiocy. Trump's negotiation style with Putin is at least two-tiered. At the upper level, Trump speaks warmly about Putin personally. At the lower level, he warns of economic strikes. Now it all depends on what demands the parties will present on the table. Initially, they will be tough, then they will soften. After that, there will either be a consensus or not. So far, there is no answer to this question in principle. But, unfortunately, a lot of rumors and insinuations will now emerge. Therefore, maintain common sense. Even now, dozens of experts are spreading "defeatism" based on the fact that Trump's conversation with Putin was longer than Trump's with Zelensky. And this is just the beginning.
Political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko believes that events in the triangle of the U.S.-Russia-Ukraine have begun to move rapidly "and even dizzyingly." "Some are already expecting peace tomorrow, while others are in a panic that Trump will marry Putin and force us to peace on Russian terms. I advise everyone to calm down a bit. With Putin, and especially with Trump, tomorrow may be different than today, and even more so than yesterday. And what they say does not mean that it will be so. The main criterion for the further development of the negotiation process is very simple – it is the agreement and public announcement of the date, place, format, and agenda of real working negotiations between Russia and Ukraine moderated by the U.S., possibly with the participation of the EU," the expert notes.
In his view, if concrete information about the start of working peace negotiations emerges soon, "then it will definitely be possible to say that the negotiation process has reached a qualitatively new level." "Otherwise, it will mean that Russia's position has not changed. Putin began to psychologically manipulate Trump, but he is not going to compromise on ending the war, as the American president's team wants," summarizes Volodymyr Fesenko.
By the way, speaking of psychological manipulation, it should be noted that following his conversation with Putin, Trump also stated: "We both reflected on the great history of our nations and how successfully we fought together in World War II. Russia lost tens of millions of people. And we also lost so many! We talked about the great convenience that we will someday gain from working together." Commenting on this passage from Trump, political scientist Viktor Shlinchak notes: "If Trump wants to fight 'together' with Putin, as in the years of World War II, then a logical question arises – who is their common enemy? Now, in Trump's vision, do we definitely become 'Gaza'?" Although the analogies here are not entirely correct...
Overall, the fact that Putin led Trump into historical depths