Trump says talks to end Ukraine war to start ‘immediately’ after Putin call
The leaders have agreed to meet, and the Russian president has invited Trump to Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman said
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday and agreed to immediately start talks to end the Ukraine war, in an extraordinary thaw in relations that could leave Kyiv out in the cold.
Trump described the call as “lengthy and highly productive” in a post on Truth Social, saying the two leaders had also agreed to visit each other to address the deep tensions since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Trump said in a social media post disclosing details about a call that followed a prisoner swap between the two nations.
“But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”
The Republican president said the leaders also “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately”.
Trump subsequently announced that he had also spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but only after his talk with Putin. After the calls, White House officials declined to clarify whether Ukraine would be a party to the US negotiations.
