Trump says Putin agrees to start talks to end war in Ukraine | Global News Avenue

U.S. President Donald Trump said he made a “long and productive” call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, and leaders agreed to start negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

In an article on his Truth Social Platform, Trump said that he and the Russian president “agree to let our respective teams start negotiations immediately” and invited each other to visit their respective capitals.

Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with Trump about “lasting, reliable peace.”

Trump and his defense minister said Ukraine was unlikely to join NATO, which was very disappointed with Kiev, which was a call for war.

Zelensky said he will meet with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a defense summit in Munich on Friday.

“It’s time to stop this ridiculous war, where huge, totally unnecessary, death and destruction happened. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!”

He did not set a date for a face-to-face meeting with Putin, but later told the White House reporter: “We will meet in Saudi Arabia.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin supported Trump’s idea that it’s time to work together.

Peskov said the phone call between Putin and Trump lasted nearly an hour and a half, during which the Russian president extended an invitation to visit Moscow.

Trump also told White House reporters that Ukraine is unlikely to return to its pre-2014 border, but in response to a question from the BBC, he said “some of these lands will come back.”

The president said he agreed with Defense Minister Pete Hegseth, who told the NATO summit earlier Wednesday that Ukraine had no possibility of joining the military coalition.

“I think this may be true,” Trump said.

The British government said it would continue to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia, and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told ITV that London’s support for Kiev remains “stubborn”.

James Waterhouse of the BBC said in evaluating the sentiment in the Ukrainian capital that Hegs’ speech would be a physical blow to Kiev.

Our correspondent added that while the new U.S. government has long been less sympathetic to Ukraine, our reporter added that every word of Heggs might only make Moscow happy.

Our correspondent said that Ukraine cannot win and ambiguous views in the future, and the upcoming front-line freezing is regulated – all of which add up, all of which add up to Russia’s 11-year aggressiveness against Ukraine.

Zelensky has repeatedly argued that “there will be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine” – but Trump-Pudin’s call was made in his absence.

Zelensky said his appeal with Trump was a “good and exhaustive discussion” on various issues, and he also met U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is visiting Kiev.

“No one wants peace more than Ukraine. With the United States, we are drawing the next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace,” Zelensky wrote.

The Ukrainian leader added: “We agree to maintain further ties and plan for an upcoming meeting.”

According to AFP, the phone call between the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders lasted for an hour.

exist Interview with the guardian Zelensky, published on Tuesday, suggested that as part of the peace agreement, Ukrainian-controlled territory could be exchanged for Ukrainian occupied territory in the Kursk region of western Russia.

Putin’s spokesman Peskov said it was “impossible”.

“Russia has never discussed and will discuss exchanges on its territory. Ukrainian forces will be expelled from the territory. All those who have not been destroyed will be fired.”

Zelensky also insists that the United States, not just European countries, needs to be part of any security program of its country.

“Not having the security guarantee in the United States is not a real security guarantee,” he said.

Moscow annexed the Black Sea Peninsula of Crimea after the overthrow of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president in 2014 and supported pro-Russian separatists in bloody battles in eastern Ukraine.

The conflict broke out about three years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Moscow’s attempt to control Kiev was thwarted, but Russian troops occupied one-fifth of Ukrainian territory in the east and south, and carried out air strikes across the country.

Ukraine retaliated against artillery and drone strikes, as well as ground offensives in Russia’s Kursk region.

It is difficult to accurately count casualties due to the confidentiality of the Russian and Ukrainian governments, but it is estimated that thousands of people, most of them soldiers, have been killed or injured, and millions of Ukrainian civilians have fled refugees.