A single phone call will not magically end the war in Ukraine.
Talks may now get underway. Exactly when and how they will conclude isn’t clear.
But President Vladimir Putin has already scored something of a diplomatic victory simply by holding this telephone conversation.
After all, three years ago he was out in the political wilderness.
Putin’s decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine had turned him into a pariah.
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning Russia for its “unlawful use of force against Ukraine.”
Russia was hit by thousands of international sanctions. The following year the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Kremlin leader.
As for the President of the United States – then Joe Biden – he left no doubt of what he thought of his Russian counterpart, condemning Putin as a “murderous dictator” and a “pure thug”.
After Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there were no more telephone calls between Putin and Biden.
Fast forward to 2025.
A change of president has brought a change of style, a change of language – and a totally different US approach to Russia.
Trump says he wants to “work together, very closely” with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. He hopes they will be “visiting each other’s nations”.
Clearly, so does Vladimir Putin, who invited Trump to Moscow.
If that visit goes ahead, it will signify a major shift in US-Russian relations. An American president has not visited Russia for more than a decade.
In many ways Putin has already got what he wants – the chance to negotiate directly with the United States on Ukraine, possibly over the heads of Kyiv and Europe – as well as the opportunity to put himself at the top table of international politics.
It remains unclear, though, how far Putin will be willing to compromise.
Russian officials claim Moscow is ready for talks but always refer back to Putin’s so-called peace proposal of June 2024, which reads more like an ultimatum.
Under that plan, Russia would get to keep all the Ukrainian territory it has seized, plus some more land still under Ukrainian control.
On top of that, Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO and Western sanctions against Russia would be scrapped.
As one Russian newspaper put it earlier this week: “Russia is ready for talks. But on its terms.
“If you drop the diplomatic language, essentially that is called an ultimatum.”
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