Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US leader Donald Trump may hold a telephone conversation amid the suspension of US military aid.
Politico reports this.
Will Zelensky and Trump Conversation Take Place: What is Known
According to the publication, the US and Ukraine are working on organizing a telephone call between the leaders.
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“The US will inform Ukraine (about the decision – Ed. ) today in Kiev, and a telephone conversation between Trump and Zelensky will be organized in the near future,” said a European diplomat familiar with the plans.
The United States does not see this as a pause or suspension of aid, he said, as it is in the process of determining how best to support Ukraine's defense.
The need for a conversation arose after the Pentagon's decision to suspend arms sales caught even Trump's allies by surprise, including members of Congress, State Department officials and key European allies.
The decision was made by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby and a small circle of advisers without coordination with the rest of the administration.
“I think all of this is done by the director of defense policy, this Colby. We don't really have a national security adviser,” said Congressman Michael McCaul.
One U.S. official said the decision caught the State Department by surprise.
Pentagon leaders did not consult with the State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, or Ukrainian Ambassador Keith Kellogg's team.
Across the Atlantic, European diplomats and Zelensky's team were trying to figure out why the US had suddenly frozen aid.
Neither Zelensky nor the European Union received prior notice.
Let us recall that the US suspended the supply of artillery ammunition, Stinger, Patriot and Hellfire missiles, including weapons that were already in warehouses in Poland.
