Donald Trump says there was settlement to start negotiations about ending the conflict in Ukraine, after holding cellphone calls with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It’s the US president’s first huge step in the direction of diplomacy over a battle which he promised to finish inside 24 hours of being inaugurated.
“We both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Mr Trump posted on Fact Social following discussions with Russia’s president.
He mentioned the pair would “work together, very closely” in the direction of winding down the battle and “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately”.
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Donald Trump has triggered the beginning of peace talks with Vladimir Putin. File pic: AP
A Kremlin spokesperson mentioned Mr Putin and Mr Trump had agreed to satisfy, with the Russian president inviting the US chief to go to Moscow.
Ukraine newest: Trump’s plan to finish conflict
“President Putin, for his part, mentioned the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement can be achieved through peaceful negotiations,” mentioned Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy talking on the cellphone with Donald Trump on Wednesday. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters
In the meantime, Ukraine’s president wrote on X that he had a “meaningful conversation” by cellphone with Mr Trump to debate “opportunities to achieve peace” and the preparation of a doc governing safety and financial cooperation.
“No one wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the US, we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace,” he mentioned.
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8:42
Trump-Putin name: What do we all know?
Mr Trump added that his cellphone dialog with Mr Zelenskyy “went very well”, suggesting that “he [Mr Zelenskyy], like President Putin, wants to make PEACE”.
On social media, the US president mentioned: “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!”
Trump’s bombshell cellphone name
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Trump’s bombshell cellphone name leaves questions unanswered.
He says there have been NATO efforts all day to cease the injury to unity performed by defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who mentioned it is unrealistic that Ukraine will get all of its land again in a peace deal or be part of NATO.
That impression of unity is crumbling.
Trump’s name with Putin is a break from three years of agency willpower by NATO members to be united behind the precept of not speaking about Ukraine with out Ukraine.
The president’s announcement that Russian and US groups will begin negotiations doesn’t clarify whether or not they’re bilateral talks or contain Kyiv.
Donald Trump appears to have made commitments in that cellphone name with Putin that the Russians anticipate him to carry himself to – what are these commitments?
On Wednesday, the US defence secretary delivered a blunt assertion on the brand new US administration’s method to the practically three-year-old conflict.
Talking at a NATO assembly in Brussels, Pete Hegseth mentioned a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the US didn’t see NATO membership for Kyiv as a part of an answer to the conflict.
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Pete Hegseth: Ukraine getting all land again in peace deal ‘not reasonable’
“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he mentioned.
Individually the US and Russia agreed to a prisoner swap. America freed a Russian cybercrime boss in return for Moscow’s launch of schoolteacher Marc Fogel, a US official mentioned on Wednesday.
Mr Trump mentioned the peace negotiations will probably be led by secretary of state Marco Rubio, director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, nationwide safety advisor Michael Waltz, and ambassador Steve Witkoff.
