US President Donald Trump revealed that he held a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two leaders agreed to initiate negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, according to the BBC.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated on Wednesday that he and Putin had “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.”
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!
Following this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that he had spoken with Trump about achieving a “lasting, reliable peace.”
The discussions come amid growing uncertainty over Ukraine’s prospects of joining NATO, with both Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth suggesting that such a move is unlikely. The stance is likely to disappoint Kyiv, which has long sought NATO membership as a guarantee of its security.
Zelensky announced that he would meet US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a defence summit on Ukraine in Munich on Friday.
While no date was set for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin, the US president hinted at a potential meeting in Saudi Arabia and mentioned mutual invitations to visit each other’s capitals. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin supported Trump’s call for collaboration, adding that the phone call lasted nearly an hour and a half and included an invitation for Trump to visit Moscow.
Trump’s stance on Ukraine’s borders, NATO membership
During a press briefing at the White House, Trump acknowledged that it was unlikely Ukraine would regain all its pre-2014 territory but suggested that “some of that land will come back.” He also aligned with Hegseth’s earlier remarks at a NATO summit that Ukraine’s accession to the alliance was improbable.
The statements are likely to be welcomed in Moscow, which has long opposed Ukraine’s NATO aspirations. However, they have raised concerns among European allies. Following a meeting in Paris, foreign ministers from seven European countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, issued a joint statement insisting that Ukraine and Europe must be part of any future negotiations.
Our shared objectives should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength. Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.
The ministers also called for robust security guarantees for Ukraine and expressed their intention to discuss the way forward with their American counterparts. However, Trump, while speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, declined to answer whether he considered Ukraine an “equal member” of the effort to end the war.
It’s an interesting question.
Zelensky’s response
Zelensky, for his part, described his call with Trump as a “good and detailed discussion” on a range of issues, including steps to halt the Russian offensive and secure a lasting peace. He also met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is currently visiting Kyiv.
No one wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the US, we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace.
In an interview with The Guardian published earlier this week, Zelensky floated the idea of exchanging Russian-held territory in Ukraine for Ukrainian-held areas in Russia’s western Kursk region as part of a potential peace deal. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the proposal as “impossible.” He stated that Russia would never discuss exchanging its territory and that Ukrainian forces would be expelled from the captured areas.
Zelensky also stressed the importance of US involvement in any security guarantees for Ukraine, asserting that “security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s reference to a future election in Ukraine was interpreted as a nod to the expiry of Zelensky’s presidential term in May 2024. However, Zelensky argued that the war in Ukraine and martial law made it impossible to hold elections, whereas Putin repeatedly questioned his legitimacy to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.
