This week, it has been reported that Donald Trump engaged in discussions with global leaders, including Vladimir Putin, without the usual supervision from the U.S. State Department or government interpreters.
According to sources quoted by The Washington Post, Trump’s approach stems from a “distrust” of federal officials, a sentiment that arose following the leak of transcripts from his conversations with international leaders during his first term in office.
The Post highlighted that it is standard for incoming presidents to formalize an agreement with the General Services Administration, a step the Trump transition team has yet to complete. Conversations revealed to Politico on Saturday indicated that while Trump’s team intends to finalize this agreement, they had not done so by the end of the weekend.
According to an insider speaking to the Post, current communications are taking place directly between world leaders and Trump.
Steven Cheung, who serves as Trump’s communications director, stated that world leaders have been contacting Trump to extend their congratulations and forge “stronger relationships” with the president-elect.
Cheung further noted that the next president signifies “global peace and stability,” a central theme that Trump’s campaign often highlighted, noting the relative calm experienced in the Middle East and Ukraine during his previous term.
On Thursday, Trump and Putin reportedly had their first conversation following Trump’s decisive victory in the election. Sources informed the Post that while speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Trump urged the long-standing Russian leader to “avoid escalating the conflict in Ukraine” and “reminded him of the significant military presence” of the U.S. nearby in Europe.
A major pledge from Trump’s campaign was to resolve the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, yet he has not elaborated on the specific methods he intends to use to achieve this.
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also reached out to Trump. Reports indicate that during the 25-minute conversation, Trump’s billionaire supporter Elon Musk was also included on the call.
Ukrainian representatives expressed to the Post that they were not opposed to Trump’s communication with Putin, recognizing that discussions would occur between the two regarding the long-standing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has resulted in approximately 500,000 military personnel being killed or injured, as disclosed by U.S. officials earlier this summer.
Concerns had circulated in Ukraine that Trump’s presidency might result in a reduction of U.S. military assistance to the nation. However, during their recent call, Axios noted that Ukrainian officials perceived Trump’s comments as “somewhat more reassuring” than they had anticipated.
Despite Trump’s electoral success, there has not yet been an immediate decrease in hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. A CNN report on Sunday disclosed that Russian and North Korean forces had “consolidated a significant number of troops, totaling tens of thousands,” in preparation for an attack on Ukrainian positions in Russia’s Kursk region, with operations expected to commence shortly.
