Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin was "eager to hear" what President Donald Trump had to say during their recent phone call.
During an appearance on Fox News Tuesday evening, Bessent said, “The president gave him [Putin] the option — ‘I could call you or send a message.’ Putin said, ‘I will be up for 15 more minutes, or you can call tomorrow.’ And I think Putin wanted the call that night. So that showed he was eager to hear what the president had to say.”
This call followed a high-profile diplomatic gathering in Washington, where Trump hosted several European leaders, including the heads of France, Germany and the European Commission, to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war and potential avenues for peace talks.
Trump paused those meetings to call Putin. He told reporters on Truth Social that he had “begun the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy.”
Trump described it as a "very good, early step" toward peace and added that after that meeting occurs, “I'll meet and we'll wrap it up.”
The president was captured on a hot mic telling French President Emmanuel Macron that he senses Putin is aiming to strike a peace deal with him.
“I think he [Putin] wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal for me, you understand that?” Trump said, whispering to Macron ahead of a multilateral meeting with European leaders. “As crazy as it sounds.”
According to Bessent, the president offered flexibility, giving Putin the chance to either receive a message or take a call immediately.
Putin, according to the secretary, preferred the immediacy, agreeing to hold the line for an additional 15 minutes so that Trump could dial in the same night.
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