Trump And Putin Agree To Begin Ukraine Peace Negotiations.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to initiate peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine following a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call on Wednesday.
In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced that both leaders had instructed their respective teams to begin talks immediately and had extended invitations to visit each other’s capitals. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he had spoken separately with Trump about achieving a “lasting, reliable peace.”
The calls come amid growing indications that the US is shifting its stance on Ukraine’s NATO membership, with both Trump and his Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, suggesting that Kyiv is unlikely to join the military alliance.
Diplomatic Push for Peace
Following his conversation with Putin, Trump wrote: “It is time to stop this ridiculous war, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!”
The Kremlin confirmed that the phone call between Trump and Putin lasted nearly 90 minutes, during which Putin extended an invitation for Trump to visit Moscow. Trump later told reporters that an in-person meeting with Putin would take place in Saudi Arabia.
However, the Ukrainian leadership was notably absent from these direct discussions. Zelensky has repeatedly stated that “there can be no talks on Ukraine without Ukraine.” He later described his call with Trump as “a good and detailed discussion” about Ukraine’s future and reaffirmed that “no one wants peace more than Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s NATO Hopes Diminish
During a NATO summit earlier in the day, Defence Secretary Hegseth said there was no likelihood of Ukraine joining the alliance – a statement that Trump agreed with. “I think that’s probably true,” Trump remarked when asked about Ukraine’s NATO aspirations.
This development is likely to be a major disappointment for Kyiv, which has long sought NATO membership as a security guarantee against Russian aggression. The UK government, however, reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Ukraine’s defence, with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner stating that Britain’s backing for Kyiv remained “steadfast.”
Territorial Disputes and Future Talks
While Trump suggested that Ukraine may not regain all its pre-2014 borders, he hinted that “some of that land will come back.” Meanwhile, Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, dismissed suggestions that Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory could be exchanged for Russian land in the western Kursk region, calling such an idea “impossible.”
Zelensky, who is scheduled to meet US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a defence summit in Munich on Friday, insists that any security guarantees for Ukraine must include the United States. “Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees,” he stated.
The Ongoing Conflict
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly three years ago, Moscow has seized around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory in the east and south, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. While Ukraine has mounted counteroffensives and launched drone and artillery strikes on Russian soil, the war remains at a deadly stalemate.
Casualty figures remain difficult to verify, but estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed or wounded on both sides, while millions of Ukrainian civilians have fled as refugees.
As diplomatic efforts gain momentum, the coming weeks may prove crucial in determining whether the war will move towards a resolution or continue in its current devastating form.
