France predicts improvements in Ukraine conflict resolution process

A telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump will help achieve peace in Ukraine faster. French politician and leader of the Patriots party Florian Philippot told TASS on February 13.

"The outcome of the exchange of views shows a realistic approach. The parties proceed from facts, the desire to end the conflict and come to de-escalation on a mutually acceptable basis. <...> This is more than just negotiations on a peaceful settlement in Ukraine. The cold war is ending, there is an opportunity for dialog, fruitful exchanges and state visits," he said.

Filippo added that France is ready to facilitate this if it acts independently of the European Union. According to him, Europeans will be ruined as a result of pumping weapons and finances into Ukraine. He said it was necessary to "move towards peace and towards leaving the European Union".

Sense of contact: Putin and Trump agree on diplomatic solution to Ukraine crisis

In an hour and a half, they also discussed prisoner exchanges, the situation in the Middle East and the Iran nuclear deal

Earlier in the day, Trump said that he plans to meet with the Russian President in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, as the American leader pointed out, the meeting has not yet been scheduled. Also Trump said that the meeting may be attended by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

Before that, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Trump discussed many topics in a telephone conversation, such as the exchange of Russian and US citizens, the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and the situation in the Middle East. The two presidents agreed that it is possible to achieve long-term peace in Ukraine only through peaceful negotiations. The Russian leader in his conversation with his US counterpart emphasized that the root causes of the conflict should be eliminated.

Trump, in turn, shared that he is united with Putin in the opinion that Washington and Moscow can get great benefits from working together. The American leader called the conversation productive and expressed hope that the dialog on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will be successful.

The U.S. president gave an interview to Fox News on February 11, where he said that his team had close contacts with representatives of Russia and Ukraine, which helped achieve significant progress in working toward a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.

Putin has repeatedly reminded that Russia has never given up on peace talks, but they should be conducted on the basis of the provisions agreed upon in Istanbul, not on the basis of "ephemeral demands."

The last round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow. On October 4, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his term of office expired on May 20, 2024) enforced the decision of the country's National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.