US President Donald Trump said he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, the New York Post reported.
Trump said in an interview on Air Force One that he “would rather not answer” when asked how many times the two leaders had spoken.
“He (Putin) wants people to stop dying,” Trump said.
The US president stressed that he “always had a good relationship with Putin” and that he had a concrete plan to end the war, but did not reveal any further details.
“I hope it’s quick. People are dying every day. This war in Ukraine is so bad. I want to end this damn thing,” Trump said.
Neither the Kremlin nor the White House immediately responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
In late January, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin was ready to talk by phone with Trump and that Moscow was waiting for word from Washington that the other side was ready.
Trump said on Friday that he would likely meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next week to discuss ending the war.
