The United States and Russia agreed to “start negotiations immediately” to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump said following a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
“We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” Trump said.
PETE HEGSETH: FIGHTING FOR PRE-2014 BORDERS ‘UNREALISTIC’ FOR UKRAINE
The president said he tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, national security adviser Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to lead those negotiations. Trump’s Russia-Ukraine envoy, Gen. Keith Kellogg, was not named in the announcement.
Their conversation occurred a day after the Kremlin agreed to release Marc Fogel, an American teacher who had been arrested on drug charges and was serving a lengthy prison in Russia in exchange for Alexander Vinnik, a Russian who was arrested for a crypto money laundering scheme.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants the war to end, and during the campaign he promised to end it within one day of taking office.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has gone on for nearly three years. Russia was expected to quickly overtake the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, but their military proved to be weaker and less prepared than many experts predicted. They reshifted their focus to the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine where they currently occupy about a fifth of the country.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO counterparts earlier on Wednesday that achieving the pre-2014 borders – prior to Russia’s annexation of Crimea – was an “unrealistic goal.”
“We will only end this devastating war and establish a durable peace by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield we want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, but we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre 2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” the secretary said.
Hegseth also said the U.S. does not “believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” which has long been a concern for Moscow.
The Trump administration has discussed a deal with the Ukrainian government that would give the U.S. billions of dollars worth of rare earth minerals in exchange for continuing to provide military aid.
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Trump said that he and Putin agreed to visit each other’s countries.
