US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Wednesday to begin talks immediately to end the war in Ukraine. In a post on the Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff would lead the peace negotiations.
“We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump, who took office on January 20, has said one of his first goals in the White House is to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine, which began almost three years ago. The US leader spoke to Mr Zelenskyy shortly after talking to Mr Putin.
“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,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In a post on X, Mr Zelenskyy said he had had “a meaningful conversation” with Mr Trump, discussing what he said were “opportunities to achieve peace”.
“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. As President Trump said, let’s get it done.”
Later, Mr Trump was asked in the White House if he expected Mr Zelenskyy to give up territory to Russia.
"Well, he's gonna have to do what he has to do. But you know, his poll numbers aren't particularly great," Mr Trump said.
He also said he wanted the US to recoup some of the money it had given Ukraine.
"We're going to, in some form, get this money back, because we're putting up far more money than Europe, and Europe is in far more danger than we are. We have an ocean in between. Europe has nothing in between."
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Wednesday ruled out any return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders in peace talks with the Kremlin, as he warned the US would leave the policing of a deal to Europeans and other countries.
Mr Hegseth, a former TV news anchor, said in Brussels that Ukraine's need for security guarantees would not be met by the US and that troops posted to support any armistice would not be covered by Nato's Article 5 mutual defence pact.
The developments come a day after the Trump administration brought home Marc Fogel, a US schoolteacher who had been held in Russia for more than three years on drug charges. His release was part of a prisoner exchange with Moscow.
“We appreciate President Putin for what he did, he was able to pull it off for you, right?” Mr Trump said while standing next to Mr Fogel in the White House late on Tuesday.
He called the prisoner exchange a “catalyst” for ending the war in Ukraine. “I want to get the war ended. That war should not have happened. It would have never happened if I were president,” he said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US had released Alexander Vinnik, a "non-violent crypto criminal", as part of the prisoner exchange.
