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

Trump advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of “Washington’s sizeable military presence in Europe”, the newspaper reported.

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.

Trump had also spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, according to media reports.

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

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

Ukraine rejected that, saying it would be tantamount to capitulation, and Zelensky has put forward a “victory plan” that includes requests for additional military support from the West.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Sunday cited “positive” signals around Trump, even while the Republican is “less predictable” than US President Joe Biden.

“He believes he can make a deal that will lead to peace,” Peskov said in an interview with state broadcaster Rossiya 1’s Kremlin correspondent. “At least, he talks about peace; he does not talk about confrontation or about wanting to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.”

Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Saturday that preliminary work is under way to set up a meeting between Zelensky and Trump, the timing of which is unclear.

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