Russia-Ukraine War: Trump Discusses Peace With Putin On Phone Call

US President Donald Trump announced that he had a long and highly productive phone call with Vladimir Putin on February 12, during which the two leaders agreed to begin negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Trump shared the details of the conversation on his Truth Social platform, stating that he and Putin had agreed to have their respective teams initiate negotiations immediately and had also invited each other to visit their capitals.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later mentioned that he had discussed a lasting, reliable peace with Trump. The calls between the leaders of the warring nations coincided with statements from both Trump and his defense secretary, who indicated that Ukraine라이브 바카라 NATO membership was unlikely—a sentiment that would be a significant blow to Kyiv.

Zelensky also announced he would meet with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a defense summit on Ukraine in Munich on Friday. On social media, 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!"

While Trump did not set a date for a face-to-face meeting with Putin, he later told reporters at the White House: "We'll meet in Saudi Arabia." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed support for Trump's proposal, agreeing that it was time for both sides to work together.

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, Peskov said. Trump also told reporters at the White House that it was unlikely Ukraine would return to its pre-2014 borders but, in response to a question from the BBC, he said "some of that land will come back".

The president said he agreed with his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who told a Nato summit earlier on Wednesday that there was no likelihood of Ukraine joining the military alliance. "I think that's probably true," Trump said. Zelensky has repeatedly argued there "can be no talks on Ukraine without Ukraine" - but the Trump-Putin phone call took place in his absence. Zelensky said his call with Trump had been a "good and detailed discussion" about a variety of issues, and that he had also met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is visiting Kyiv.

"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," Zelensky wrote. The Ukrainian leader added: "We agreed to maintain further contact and plan upcoming meetings."

Following the overthrow of Ukraine's pro-Russian president in 2014, Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and backed pro-Russian separatists in bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The conflict burst into all-out war when Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago. Moscow's attempts to take control of the capital Kyiv were thwarted, but Russian forces have taken around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory in the east and south, and have carried out air strikes across the country. Accurate casualty counts are hard to come by due to secrecy by both the Russian and Ukrainian governments, but it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people, most of them soldiers, have been killed or injured, and millions of Ukrainian civilians have fled as refugees.