President Donald Trump has said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a phone call to begin “negotiations” on ending the Ukraine war and would “work together, very closely” on winding down the conflict.
Mr Trump said he spent more than an hour on the phone with Mr Putin and “I think we’re on the way to getting peace”.
He noted that he later spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky but he was non-committal about whether Ukraine would be an equal participant in US negotiations with Russia.
Of his conversation with Mr Putin, Mr Trump said, “People didn’t really know what President Putin’s thoughts were. But I think I can say with great confidence, he wants to see it ended also, so that’s good — and we’re going to work toward getting it ended and as fast as possible.”
Mr Trump noted that he would “probably” meet in person with Mr Putin in the near term, suggesting that could happen in Saudi Arabia.
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mr Trump’s special Russia-Ukraine envoy, retired general Keith Kellogg, will all be in Germany later this week for the annual Munich Security Conference, which Mr Zelensky will also attend.
However, in a blow to Ukraine’s aspirations, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier on Wednesday at Nato headquarters in Brussels that Nato membership was not realistic for Ukraine and said that any security guarantees for the country would have to be borne by European countries.
Mr Trump’s announcement also appeared to dismantle the Joe Biden-era mantra that Kyiv would be a full participant in any decisions made. “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Mr Biden and his top national security aides said repeatedly.
The call between Mr Trump and Mr Putin came on after a prisoner swap in which Russia released schoolteacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention on drug charges.
Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of the swap that saw Moscow’s release of Mr Fogel.
Mr Trump welcomed Mr Fogel at the White House on Tuesday evening after his return to US soil.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Mr Trump suggested that Fogel’s release could help anchor a peace deal on Ukraine, saying: “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”
The Kremlin was more cautious but it also noted that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust.
