US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he had separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, where he expressed his desire to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump, according to Reuters, spoke to Putin for over an hour. Speaking to the reporters in the Oval office, Trump said that Putin does want to end the war, but after ending it, he just doesn’t want to start it again after six months. After the phone call, Trump said that he believes they are on their way to attaining peace as both parties want it. “I just want to see people stop getting killed,” Trump said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later said that he too spoke to Trump and it was a meaningful conversation where they talked about creating peace that lasts and is reliable. The phone call comes after Trump and his defense secretary said that for Ukraine to join NATO is an unlikely possibility. Zelenskiy also said that he would meet up with Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a defense summit in Munich on Friday.
Trump, even while he was carrying out presidential campaigns, had said that he would end the Russia-Ukraine war, but never really mentioned how he would do it. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he and Putin agreed on starting negotiations and also invited each other to visit their respective capitals. Trump has also said that his first meeting with Putin will likely happen in Saudi Arabia soon.
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, there have been no peace talks between the two, and the war is now entering its third year. Former US president Joe Biden kept sending billions of dollars in military and other aid to Ukraine and never spoke to Putin directly after Russia invaded.
European countries like Britain, France, and Germany have categorically said that any future talks regarding Ukraine, they must be involved with. They also said the only thing that can bring peace is a fair deal with security promises. They were also ready to lend more support to Ukraine to make sure it is in a strong position.
(With agency inputs)