Trump speaks to Putin, says negotiations to end Ukraine war start 'immediately'

1. Trump speaks to Putin, says negotiations to end Ukraine war start 'immediately'

Trump speaks to Putin, says negotiations to end Ukraine war start 'immediately' ByHT News Desk Feb 12, 2025 10:58 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have agreed to initiate talks to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin “negotiations” on ending Ukraine war.

US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin (File image)(AP)

The Republican said in a social media post disclosing a call between the two leaders that they would “work together, very closely.”

Trump heaped praise on the Russian president in his Truth Social post, saying that Putin "even used my very strong Campaign motto of, 'COMMON SENSE.'"

He said they "both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine" -- with Trump using an unconfirmed figure for the toll in the war.

"We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other's Nations," said Trump.

"We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Volodymyr Zelensky, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now," Trump wrote.

The phone call came shortly after a major prisoner swap between the US and Russia, in which Moscow released US schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who had been detained in Russia for over three years. In exchange, the United States freed Russian cryptocurrency kingpin Alexander Vinnik, who had been imprisoned in the US on charges related to his alleged role in money laundering activities.

The release of Fogel has been seen as a significant step forward in improving US-Russia relations, which could pave the way for greater cooperation between the two powers. According to US officials, the prisoner swap was a crucial confidence-building measure that set the stage for the talks between Trump and Putin.

The Kremlin also issued a statement saying that Putin in the phone call told Trump that "peaceful negotiations" on ending the Ukraine conflict were possible.

"President Putin ... agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peaceful negotiations," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call, which it said lasted almost one-and-a-half hours.