Trump speaks to Putin, says Ukraine talks to start ‘immediately’

Washington and Moscow have confirmed that their respective presidents have spoken about ending Ukraine war – but Kyiv will be very nervous.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday, US time, and agreed to immediately start talks to end Ukraine war, in an extraordinary thaw in relations that could leave Kyiv out in the cold.

Mr Trump described the call as “lengthy and highly productive” in a post on Truth Social, saying that the two leaders had even agreed to visit each other’s nations to address the deep tensions since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin separately said the call lasted nearly one-and-a-half hours and that Mr Putin and Mr Trump had agreed that the “time has come to work together,” with a long-term solution for Ukraine war in reach.

It comes as the US told European allies on Wednesday that Ukraine would not be joining NATO, it was an “illusionary goal” for the nation to revert to its pre-invasion borders and Europe would have to take on the burden of keeping Ukraine safe as Washington pivoted to concerns around China.

Kyiv will be concerned that any deal to end the war could be highly advantageous to Moscow and could leave it vulnerable to attack in the future if it doesn’t have sufficient US support as a deterrent. While European leaders will be nervous that a rewarded Russia might have ambitions on other nations on the continent.

The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Spain insisted on Wednesday that any peace deal in Ukraine could not be achieved without the involvement of Kyiv and its European partners.

US President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday< US time. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

“I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” Mr Trump said, adding that they had discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, artificial intelligence and other subjects.

He said they agreed that “we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine” — with Mr Trump using an unconfirmed figure for the toll in Ukraine conflict.

“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations,” said Mr Trump. “We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” on Ukraine.

Mr Trump had promised to end Ukraine war before taking office and has been pushing for a peace settlement while remaining coy until now about any possible contact with Mr Putin.

But in a sign that Ukraine could see its fate decided by Washington and Moscow, Mr Trump said that “we will begin by calling President Zelensky, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation”.

Mr Zelensky said he had a “meaningful conversation” with Mr Trump in a diplomatic response.

“We long talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level,” he said on social media, adding that he was “grateful to President Trump for his interest in what we can accomplish together”.

Mr Zelensky has been trying to keep on the right side of Mr Trump and maintain US support while pushing his own nation’s demands for peace with Russia.

Mr Trump said his call with Mr Zelensky went “very well”.

“He, like President Putin, wants to make PEACE,” Mr Trump said on Truth Social, adding that Mr Zelensky would meet US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich on Friday

Vladimir Putin has invited Donald Trump to Moscow. (Photo by Gavriil GRIGOROV / POOL / AFP)

‘Stopping hostilities’

There had been earlier signs of a thaw this week with a prisoner swap deal that saw Moscow free US teacher Marc Fogel while Washington released Russian cryptocurrency kingpin Alexander Vinnik.

Mr Trump heaped praise on the Russian president in his Truth Social post, saying that Putin “even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.’”

The Kremlin’s statement was more measured, saying that Mr Putin “agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peace negotiations”.

“President Trump spoke in favour of stopping hostilities as soon as possible and solving the problem by peaceful means,” Mr Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his readout of the call.

Mr Putin stressed any settlement would need to “address the root causes of the conflict,” Mr Peskov said, without elaborating.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will be concerned if the deal done leaves it vulnerable to future attack. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS and Sergei GAPON / AFP)

Mr Trump said he had asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff “to lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful”.

Mr Zelensky this week floated the idea of exchanging occupied land but Russia rejected the proposal, hours after launching a fresh barrage of drones and missiles on Kyiv.

He is due to meet US Vice President JD Vance on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where the Ukrainian leader said he hoped to finalise an economic agreement with Washington.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth had earlier laid out Trump’s red lines to Washington’s allies on Wednesday, saying that trying to return Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders was an “illusionary goal” that would extend the fighting.

The US defence chief also said security guarantees would be needed for Ukraine but that NATO membership was “not realistic”.

Originally published as Trump speaks to Putin, says Ukraine talks to start ‘immediately’