US President Donald Trump stated that he had an “extended and highly fruitful” phone conversation with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, during which the two leaders concurred on initiating discussions to conclude the conflict in Ukraine.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump mentioned that he and the Russian leader had “agreed to have our respective delegations commence talks immediately” and had invited each other to visit their respective capitals.
Subsequently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he had spoken with Trump regarding a “durable and trustworthy peace.”
The discussions with both sides occurred as Trump and his defense chief noted that Ukraine was unlikely to become a NATO member, a revelation that would be deeply disappointing for Kyiv.
Zelensky stated that he would meet Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a defense conference on Ukraine in Munich on Friday.
Trump wrote on social media: “It is time to end this absurd War, which has resulted in immense and utterly avoidable LOSS and RUIN. God bless the citizens of Russia and Ukraine!”
Although he did not specify a date for a direct meeting with Putin, he later informed journalists at the White House: “We’ll convene in Saudi Arabia.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin endorsed Trump’s notion that the moment had arrived to collaborate.
The call between Trump and Putin lasted nearly ninety minutes, during which the Russian president invited Trump to visit Moscow, Peskov revealed.
Trump also informed reporters that Ukraine was unlikely to reclaim its pre-2014 frontiers but, in response to a question from the BBC, remarked, “some of that land will be recovered.”
The president aligned with his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who told a NATO gathering earlier on Thursday that Ukraine’s accession to the military alliance was improbable.
“I believe that’s most likely the case,” Trump stated.
Assessing the atmosphere in Ukraine’s capital, BBC correspondent James Waterhouse noted that Hegseth’s remarks would have been a significant setback for Kyiv.
Although it has long been recognized that the new US leadership was less inclined to support Ukraine compared to its predecessor, our reporter added, Hegseth’s statements would have likely pleased Moscow.
There was a rejection of NATO membership, an assertion that Ukraine could not emerge victorious, and ambiguity over how a frozen battle line would be monitored in the future – all of which collectively marked a tangible gain for Russia’s 11 years of hostilities against Ukraine, our journalist observed.
Zelensky has repeatedly insisted there “can be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine” – yet the Trump-Putin conversation took place without his participation.
Zelensky described his discussion with Trump as a “substantial exchange” on various topics and mentioned that he had also met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is currently in Kyiv.
“No one desires peace more than Ukraine. Together with the US, we are formulating our next steps to halt Russian aggression and secure an enduring, dependable peace,” Zelensky wrote.
The Ukrainian president added: “We decided to maintain ongoing communication and schedule forthcoming meetings.”
According to AFP news agency, the discussion between the US and Ukrainian leaders lasted an hour.
In an interview with The Guardian published on Tuesday, Zelensky proposed that Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine could be exchanged for Ukrainian-controlled land in Russia’s Kursk region as part of a peace accord.
He also emphasized that the US, alongside European nations, must be included in any security framework for his country.
“Security assurances without America do not constitute genuine security assurances,” he stated.
After the ousting of Ukraine’s pro-Russian leader in 2014, Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and supported pro-Russian insurgents in intense clashes in eastern Ukraine.
The situation escalated into full-scale warfare when Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Moscow’s attempts to seize Kyiv were unsuccessful, but Russian troops have occupied roughly one-fifth of Ukraine’s land in the east and south and have conducted aerial bombardments nationwide.
Ukraine has retaliated with artillery and drone assaults, along with a ground campaign against Russia’s Kursk region.
Precise casualty figures remain difficult to ascertain due to secrecy from both the Russian and Ukrainian administrations, but estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of individuals, primarily soldiers, have been killed or wounded, while millions of Ukrainian civilians have been displaced as refugees.
