Donald Trump announced last night that he’d spoken with Vladimir Putin on the phone, which probably wasn’t on anyone’s 2025 bingo card.

The US President claimed he and Putin had agreed to start negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, reported The Mirror.

But the UK Defence Secretary has sent a warning to Donald Trump that there “can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine”.

John Healey made the comments as Nato defence ministers met in Brussels this morning. He said Russia remains a threat “well beyond Ukraine”.

This call was the first time a US leader had spoken to Putin on the phone since Biden did so in 2021.

Sky News reports that the call lasted an hour and a half, and it has been described as a ‘positive’ discussion.

The two leaders talking on the phone has led people to question whether Putin can speak English – as no one bothered to wonder if Trump speaks Russian, which of course he does not.

But how did this phone call take place, and does Putin speak English? Here’s everything you need to know about the Russian leader’s linguistic skillset.

Trump spoke to Putin on the phone last night to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine
US President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin from the Oval Office of the White House on January 28, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mandel Ngan / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) (Image: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

What languages does Putin speak?

Of course Vladimir Putin speaks Russian. But he also speaks German.

The President speaks English to a fluent level often praised by onlookers, but in the majority of his interviews and political discussions with other world leaders, he often uses a translator instead of speaking English.

The Express reports that according to the Kremlin’s – the Russian Government’s- spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the Russian President’s English is good enough to correct his own interpreters.

He said: “In free discourse, at the sidelines of summits, he often speaks in English by himself. But during negotiations and when he is conducting an official meeting, of course he communicates through a translator.

“However, he practically understands English completely and sometimes even corrects the translators.

“A translator will always have a crisis moment. I worked as a translator at a high level myself, which is why I’m familiar with the stress of it.”

Why does Putin refuse to speak English?

Asked why he speaks Russian as opposed to English when attending national summits, Putin answered the question himself some years ago.

He said: “In Russia, thank God, I get by in German and I can express myself more or less in English.”

It appears the leader may simply feel more comfortable speaking in his mother tongue, but some see his apparent refusal to speak English as a ‘bizarre power play’.

As negotiations continue to end the war in Ukraine, it’s unlikely Vladimir Putin will conduct any meetings in English.

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