EXCLUSIVE — President Donald Trump hailed his call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, praising an agreement that will result in an immediate ceasefire on energy and infrastructure — and he revealed he had been speaking to the Russian leader for weeks.
In an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner at the White House Tuesday afternoon, shortly after the two-hour call between Trump and Putin, Trump said: “It’s a big thing — an immediate ceasefire on energy and infrastructure.”
Of course, a ceasefire that applies only to particular types of targets is not a full ceasefire, but Trump called it a very positive development.
TRUMP AND PUTIN AGREE TO PRELIMINARY CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS IN MIDDLE EAST
“It will lead to other things,” the president said. “I think we’ll end up making a deal. It’s a good start.”
Trump also revealed that the Tuesday call with Putin was not the first conversation the two leaders have had in recent weeks.
“It was a very good call,” Trump said. “I think it’s the beginning of something good. The beginning really took place three or four weeks ago. You know, I’ve spoken to Putin over — this isn’t just a call that began it. We’ve had other calls.”
“That’s not been made public before,” I said. “No, but this is a continuation of positive,” Trump replied. “If it was not positive, I’d tell you.”
On what comes next, Trump said: “Probably a full ceasefire at the appropriate time. It’s hard right now because you’ve got guys looking at each other with gun barrels … but the next thing would be a full ceasefire and a deal.”
Is that a long way away? “No,” Trump answered. “I think it will go pretty quickly.” Of course, the president noted, both sides, Russia and Ukraine, will have to agree for that to happen.
I asked the president how he can exert pressure on Putin. It’s a much simpler situation with Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on the United States. But how to pressure Putin? “Well, I don’t want to get into it, but there are good reasons why [Putin] would do this,” Trump answered. “But if I wasn’t here, he would never do it.”
“They weren’t talking at all,” Trump said of his predecessors in the White House. “Biden wasn’t capable of talking.”
“I’m doing this because of the fact that number one, I don’t want people to die,” Trump said. “And number two, I don’t like the fact that we’ve spent, in my opinion, $350 billion. You know, they like to say $190 billion, $200 billion — whether it was or not, we’ve spent in my opinion $350 billion, with nothing to show. Much more importantly, people are being killed. They’re not from our country, but that could easily be a third World War at some point.”
The call that took place Tuesday was not a video call — just audio on both sides. I asked Trump whether, even with translators, he could read anything from Putin’s demeanor. “Putin was very solid, very strong, which he is,” Trump said. “It was a very good call. I know him very well. I think he is very serious that he wants to end it.”