Talks between the US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could lead to the first phone conversation between Zelensky and Putin in more than five years.
This is reported by Fox News, citing sources.
According to the publicationʼs interlocutor, Trump appears to be the most successful mediator, as both Putin and Zelensky "emotionally perceive each other", which makes any direct contact between them difficult.
"If Putin had joined the phone call on Sunday, it would have been the biggest achievement in preparing for peace talks and the first real step in the peace process," a Fox News source said.
Putin has been refusing direct contact with Zelensky since July 2020. Since then, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly tried to initiate a conversation, but to no avail. A Fox News interlocutor said that in August and September 2024 there were supposedly opportunities for a conversation, but they disappeared again after the start of the Kursk operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The source also stated that the last contact between Putin and Zelensky took place after Ukraineʼs operation against Russian mercenaries from the PMC “Wagner” in Belarus, when Kyiv tried to secure their extradition — then Minsk handed over the detainees to Russia.
Fox News reached out to the Kremlin and the Office of the President of Ukraine for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
- On Sunday, December 28, in Florida, USA, a meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump took place at the Mar-a-Lago residence. The meeting lasted about three hours.
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