Trump and Putin agree to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Wednesday that he has reached an agreement with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to begin "negotiations immediately" with the goal of ending the war in Ukraine.

According to what was explained on their social media, Truth Social, the agreement was reached after a "long and very productive phone call" in which both expressed their willingness to "end the millions of deaths occurring in the war between Russia and Ukraine."

As part of this understanding, they agreed to "work very closely together," even considering mutual visits to each other's countries.

Additionally, they decided that their diplomatic teams will begin negotiations immediately.

Trump stated that he will begin this process by calling the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to inform him about what was discussed with Putin, something he has already done today.

To lead the negotiations, Trump announced that he has appointed Marco Rubio, the current Secretary of State; the CIA Director, John Ratcliffe; the National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz; and the Ambassador and Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff.

He expressed his confidence that this team will achieve "a successful result."

In his message, Trump insisted that millions of people have died in a war that would not have happened if he had been president, but he believes it is now time to prevent further loss of human life.

Finally, he thanked Putin for his willingness during the call and for the recent release of Marc Fogel, whom he described as "a wonderful man and teacher," welcomed on Tuesday night at the White House.

Trump indicated that during the call they also discussed the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the power of the dollar, and other topics of interest.

Both leaders reflected on the history of their countries and recalled that "we fought together with great success in World War II", highlighting the enormous human losses suffered by Russia and the United States in that conflict.

They also discussed the strengths of their respective nations and the "great benefit" that, according to Trump, they could gain in the future by working together.

The U.S. president ended his statement with optimism that these efforts would lead to "a successful conclusion," hoping that the war would soon come to an end.

A key dialogue between Trump and Putin

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, confirmed the conversation between the two leaders and explained that the call lasted nearly an hour and a half.

During the exchange, in addition to addressing the war in Ukraine, a potential exchange of citizens between Russia and the United States was discussed.

"President Putin mentioned the need to address the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term solution can be found through peace talks," Peskov noted in a phone press conference.

Zelenski willing to make concessions

The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, stated he is ready for a territorial exchange with Russia through "serious negotiations," according to statements published by the British newspaper The Guardian this Wednesday.

Zelenski, who will meet next Friday in Munich, Germany, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, stated that he is ready for serious negotiations.

"We will exchange one territory for another," stated the Ukrainian president in an interview with the British newspaper.

In this regard, Zelensky expressed support for abandoning the Russian region of Kursk in exchange for areas of Ukraine invaded by Moscow since the beginning of the conflict in February 2022.

Conversation between Trump and Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday that he had a very "significant" conversation with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, to define the next steps to end the war.

Zelensky thanked Trump for his interest in what they can achieve together and revealed that he shared details of his previous conversation with Putin.

"No one desires peace more than Ukraine. Together with the United States, we are defining the next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure lasting and reliable peace," he said on his X account.

"As President Trump said, let’s do it. We agreed to maintain more contact and plan upcoming meetings," he added.

A shift in U.S. diplomacy

So far, the specific terms of the agreement and the details regarding how negotiations for a possible end to the conflict will be conducted have not been disclosed.

Nonetheless, the announcement represents a significant shift in Washington's diplomatic stance, which during Joe Biden's administration had maintained an unconditional support policy for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.

In parallel with the negotiations, the Kremlin confirmed that the recent release of American citizen Marc Fogel was part of a prisoner exchange with the United States.

In the "coming days," Washington will release a Russian citizen, whose name will be revealed once they are in Russian territory.

Peskov emphasized that in recent weeks, contacts between the diplomatic departments of both countries have increased, which allowed for the release of Fogel and the Russian citizen detained in the United States.

When asked about the possibility that this prisoner exchange could facilitate peace negotiations in Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesperson emphasized that any agreement represents "a step towards increasing mutual trust, which is currently at its lowest point."

Frequently Asked Questions about the Peace Negotiations between Trump and Putin