President Donald Trump announced that negotiations to resolve the ongoing conflict in Ukraine will commence immediately following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning.
This call marks the first known discussion between the two leaders since Trump took office last month and comes a day after the release of an American citizen imprisoned in Russia. Officials within the Trump administration expressed optimism that this exchange could signal a renewed commitment to ending the nearly four-year-long conflict in Ukraine.
In a summary of the conversation shared on Truth Social, Trump stated, “We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects.” The Kremlin confirmed that Trump and Putin spoke for nearly 90 minutes.Trump has been indicating for several weeks his intention to engage with Putin to address the Ukraine crisis.
He remarked, “We agreed to work together very closely, including visiting each other’s nations.
We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and I will be reaching out to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine to inform him of our discussion right now.”
In contrast, Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, had not communicated with Putin in nearly three years, and the last U.S. president to visit Russia was Barack Obama in 2013 during a G20 summit.
Steve Witkoff, who will serve as one of Trump’s chief negotiators for the conflict, highlighted the recent release of wrongfully detained American Marc Fogel as a potential indicator of future relations between the U.S. and Russia.
“I think that’s perhaps a sign of what the working relationship between President Trump and President Putin could look like going forward, and what that may mean for global conflicts.
Their past friendship was beneficial, and I believe it will continue, which is a positive development for the world,” he stated.
