Timing of Trump-Putin call significantpublished at 17:26 BST
17:26 BST
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Image source, EPA
We don’t yet know if it was Trump or Putin who initiated today’s conversation, but coming on the eve of Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House, it is clearly an important moment.
Moscow has sent conflicting signals in recent weeks about a talks process with the US, that began with a direct meeting in Alaska between the Russian and American leaders in early August and then appeared to fizzle out.
From Russia’s perspective, Trump is the only leader in the West who’s prepared to address the “root causes” of the war in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes Western allies have since sought to “lead Donald Trump astray” by persuading the US president that Putin doesn’t want peace.
But most Western observers agree it didn’t take long for Putin to lose faith in the Alaska process. By early September, Putin had resorted to half-hearted offers, including “if Zelensky is ready [to meet], let him come to Moscow”. A bit of a non-starter for a Ukrainian leader whose country is under full-scale invasion.
It’s unlikely Putin’s maximalist demands to end the war have changed, but Russia is clearly concerned that Trump is now considering handing the Ukrainians long-range Tomahawk missiles that could reach Moscow.