Trump and Putin to begin ‘negotiations’ on ending Ukraine war
A call between the leaders followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing American schoolteacher Marc Fogel.
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.
“We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Mr Trump said in a social media post.
“But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine.”
The Republican said the leaders also “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” and they would meet in person, including perhaps in each other’s countries, but it was unclear how closely Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be involved.
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.
Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the US on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is currently in custody in California awaiting his return to Russia, officials said.
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.
