Trump calls on Putin and Zelenskiy to initiate peace negotiations in Ukraine ‘immediately’

Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone Wednesday and agreed to move toward talks to end the war in Ukraine, as revealed by the U.S. president in a message on Truth Social, his social network. “As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump wrote, indicating that in the course of these negotiations both leaders could even travel for face-to-face talks.

“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately,” added Trump, who stated that he would contact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to inform him of the content of his conversation with the Russian leader.

“I just spoke to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to make PEACE. We discussed a variety of topics having to do with the war, but mostly, the meeting that is being set up on Friday in Munich, where Vice President J. D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the Delegation. I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive. It is time to stop this ridiculous war, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!” Trump posted just after 1 p.m. ET.

Kyiv later confirmed the discussions with Washington. The president’s office said that Zelenskiy spoke for an hour with Trump, about issues extending beyond the content of the dialogue the Republican held with Putin.

Zelenskiy: “No one wants peace more than Ukraine”

“No one wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the U.S., we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace. As President Trump said, let’s get it done,” said the Ukrainian head of state, who has avoided assessing the pro-Russian positions that Trump and other members of his administration have expressed on numerous occasions.

Zelenskiy insisted Wednesday in an interview with The Economist that without the participation of Ukraine, it makes no sense to open negotiations to close the conflict. The Ukrainian president stressed that Putin’s goal is to continue the war and that only with strong security guarantees for Ukraine from its allies can the Kremlin be forced to accept peace.

The U.S. negotiating team will also include CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Trump’s special envoy for negotiations, Steve Witkoff. “I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!” noted Trump of a conversation he described as “lengthy and highly productive.” In it, according to the U.S. president, they also discussed the Middle East, energy issues, artificial intelligence, “the power of the dollar” and other issues.

In Moscow, the Kremlin said that the two leaders spoke for an hour and a half and agreed to meet. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that the two leaders had a “long and productive” conversation and that Putin has invited Trump to Moscow. “The Russian president supported one of the main theses of the American head of state: the time has come for our countries to work together,” the Russian presidential office added.

The Kremlin added that Trump “has spoken in favor of a speedy end to hostilities — in Ukraine — and a peaceful solution to the problem.” Putin, for his part, insisted on tackling “the root causes” of the war. “A long-term solution can be achieved through peaceful negotiations,” the Russian leader added.

In addition to the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, the two presidents discussed, according to the Kremlin, “peace in the Middle East, the Iranian nuclear program, and bilateral Russian-U.S. relations in the economic sphere.”

The conversation comes after Trump has reiterated in recent days his desire to end a war that has cost “millions” of lives and is about to turn three years old at the end of this month. The Republican, who likes to claim that the conflict would not have broken out had he been president at the time, claimed during his campaign that he would end the crisis “within 24 hours” by forcing Zelenskiy and Putin to the negotiating table. This weekend he revealed that he had been in contact with the Russian president, although he would not disclose how many times they had spoken, at what exact time, or the content of their discussions.

On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared in Brussels that it would be “unrealistic” to think that Ukraine could regain its pre-2014 borders, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea. He also ruled out that Kyiv could receive an offer of NATO membership as part of the negotiations.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin ordered the release of American teacher Mark Folger, 63, sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking in 2021 after 17 grams of marijuana, which his family claims was prescribed for medical use against back pain, was seized from him. In exchange, the U.S. will release Russian Alexander Vinnik, who pleaded guilty last year to money laundering.

“I want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call, and for the release, yesterday, of Marc Fogel, a wonderful man that I personally greeted last night at the White House,” Trump noted in his social media post.

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