Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Vladimir Putin on Thursday and discussed the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The newly elected US president advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of “Washington’s extensive military presence in Europe,” the Post reported.

It added that Trump expressed interest in further talks on “an early resolution of the war in Ukraine.”

During the election campaign, Trump said he would find a solution to end the war “within a day,” but did not explain how he would do so.

According to a former US official familiar with the call who spoke to the Washington Post, Trump is unlikely to want to start his second presidential term with an escalation of the war in Ukraine, “which gives him incentive to want to prevent the war worsens. ”.

In a statement to the newspaper, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said: “President Trump decisively won a historic election and leaders around the world know America will return to prominence on the world stage. That is why leaders have begun the process of developing stronger relations with the 45th and 47th presidents, because he represents global peace and stability.”

According to media reports, Trump also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.

Biden invited Trump to the Oval Office on Wednesday, and on Sunday National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden’s key message will be his commitment to ensuring a peaceful transition of power. He will also talk to Trump about what is happening in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

“President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to argue to Congress and the new administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe,” Sullivan told CBS. .

Washington has provided tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic aid to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022, funding that Trump has repeatedly criticized and opposed along with other Republican lawmakers.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry disputed a claim in the Washington Post article that Kiev had been informed of the call and did not object to the call taking place. “Reports that the Ukrainian side was informed in advance of the alleged call are false. Subsequently, Ukraine could not have endorsed or opposed the call,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi told Reuters.

On Friday, the Kremlin said Putin was willing to discuss Ukraine with Trump, but that did not mean he was willing to change Moscow’s demands.

On June 14, Putin set out his conditions for an end to the war: Ukraine would have to abandon its NATO ambitions and withdraw all its troops from the entire territory of the four regions claimed by Russia.

Ukraine rejected that, saying this would amount to capitulation, and that Zelenskyy has proposed a “victory plan” that includes requests for additional military support from the West.

Also on Sunday, Trump spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “The Chancellor emphasized the German government’s willingness to continue the decades of successful cooperation between the governments of the two countries. They also agreed to work together towards a return to peace in Europe,” a German government spokesman said.

In a phone call last week with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Trump said the US was interested in working with Seoul in the shipbuilding industry, especially naval shipbuilding, and in “promoting genuine peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.” Pacific’. , the South Korean leader said.

Trump’s call with Putin comes just a day after Bryan Lanza, a senior political adviser to Trump, told the BBC that Ukraine should focus on achieving peace rather than “a vision to win.”

“If Zelensky says that we will only stop these fighting, there will only be peace. Once Crimea returns, we will have news for President Zelensky: Crimea is gone,” Lanza told the BBC.

Following his comments, a Trump spokesperson said Lanza was “a campaign contractor” and that he “does not work for President Trump or speak on his behalf.”