Vladimir Putin waved off concerns that he was going to be late for his highly-anticipated call with Donald Trump today.
The US president is expected to try and persuade the Russian leader to accept America’s suggestion of having a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
Moscow claims it also wants peace – but only on its terms.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had confirmed Trump and Putin were meant to be speaking between the hours of 1pm and 3pm UK time today, and said they would talk for as long as they think is necessary.
But, in a clear display of nonchalance, Putin was on stage at 1pm, speaking to a room full of oligarchs.
Asked by a businessman if he was going to be late to his call with the White House, Putin just waved his hand and dismissed the concern.
He told the laughing audience not to listen to his spokesperson because Peskov’s job is “to talk”.
The White House later said the call had been going on since 2pm – making the Russian president approximately one hour late.
Russian state news agency TASS reported that Putin did not leave that venue until 1.52pm.
The remarkable incident comes after Putin reportedly made Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff wait at least eight hours last week.
The Russian president was allegedly too busy meeting his top ally, Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, in a hastily organised state visit announced the day before.
However, the US president later denied these claims.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said: “The Fake News, as usual, is at it again! Why can’t they be honest, just for once? Last night, I read that President Vladimir Putin of Russia kept my highly respected ambassador and special envoy, Steve Witkoff, waiting for over nine hours when, in fact, there was no wait whatsoever.”
He added: “The only reason they made up that story is to try and DEMEAN, because they are sick degenerates, that have to start reporting the news correctly. This is why they have lost their ratings, their audience, and respect. Thank you for your attention to this matter and, GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
Trump’s administration has upended the west’s approach to Russia in recent weeks.
Europe and the US has been isolating Putin on the world stage over his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but – in his push to end the war – Trump seems to offered the Russian president a seat at the international table again.
The US president also appears to be much more aligned with the aggressors in Russia than those who have been bombarded for three years in Ukraine.
Trump even caused an unprecedented diplomatic spat when he and his vice-president JD Vance chastised Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit in the oval office and accused him of being ungrateful for America’s support throughout the war.
Trump then withheld US intelligence sharing with the Ukraine and restricted military aid to the war-torn country.
Zelenskyy has since tried to build bridges and agreed to Trump’s 30-day ceasefire idea – and the White House resumed sharing its intel and military aid.
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