Donald Trump isn’t one to shy away from dramatic claims, and his latest? That top leaders from the European Union are practically begging him to keep the lines open with Vladimir Putin—because, apparently, the Russian president won’t even take their calls.
In a Sunday interview with NBC News, Trump said flat-out: “Do you know that the European Union leaders have asked me to call Putin so many times? Because he doesn’t return their phone calls.”
According to Trump, it’s not just a diplomatic courtesy anymore—it’s become a kind of exclusive club, and he’s the only one on the guest list. He painted a picture of EU leaders, frustrated and sidelined, turning to him as their backchannel to the Kremlin. And, true to Trump form, he didn’t miss a chance to swipe at his old rival, Joe Biden, for apparently not picking up the phone himself.
The former president positioned himself as the go-between in the grinding Russia-Ukraine conflict, hinting that some progress was being made behind the scenes—at least with one of the warring parties. He kept things vague, saying his team was “closer with one party, and maybe not as close with the other,” without naming names.
Meanwhile, European support for Ukraine continues full throttle, with NATO allies sending weapons and mulling over possible troop deployments. But despite the tough talk, EU leaders like Germany’s Olaf Scholz have tried to reach Putin in the past—Scholz made a call last November that earned him some heat from Kiev, which saw it as caving to Moscow.
Russia, for its part, says it’s still open to diplomacy. The Kremlin wants what it calls a “shared security framework”—basically, no country in Europe getting ahead at another’s expense. That sounds nice in theory, but so far, efforts at dialogue have hit brick walls. In fact, Putin warned back in February that some in the West are working hard to sabotage any real U.S.–Russia dialogue.
And French President Emmanuel Macron? He’s talked a good game about speaking with Putin, but according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, that’s all it’s been—talk. No calls, no action.
So, if Trump is to be believed, it might just be his number that still rings through at the Kremlin. Whether that’s a sign of diplomatic savvy or just political theater, one thing’s for sure—it keeps him in the headlines.
