The US and Russian leaders have spoken by phone, both sides have confirmed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump had a phone conversation on Wednesday, both Moscow and Washington have confirmed.
The talk lasted for about an hour and a half, during which the two leaders discussed a broad range of issues, primarily the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
The phone call turned out to be “lengthy and highly productive,” Trump said in a post on his Truth social media platform.
“We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects,” the US president wrote.
The two leaders have agreed they “want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump said, announcing an “immediate” start of negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
Wednesday’s call represents the first official top-level contact between Moscow and Washington since Trump took office in January.
While phone conversations between Trump and Putin have been rumored for weeks, none have been officially confirmed, with both sides stating only they had been maintaining contact through various unspecified government channels.
European powers, including Britain, France, and Germany, have insisted they must be involved in any future negotiations on Ukraine’s fate, stressing that only a fair agreement with security guarantees can ensure lasting peace.
The statement follows Donald Trump’s claim of imminent US-Russia negotiations.
“Our shared objectives should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength. Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations,” seven European nations and the European Commission have stated after a Paris meeting.
They emphasized that “Ukraine should be provided with strong security guarantees,” adding that peace in Ukraine is crucial for transatlantic security.
Asked whether he would support Ukraine’s Zelensky “ceding” or “exchanging” territory with Russia as part of a potential peace deal, President Trump suggested that Kiev might have no other choice.
“He’s going to have to do what he has to do… You know, his poll numbers aren’t particularly great, to put it mildly,” Trump said, indicating that Washington wants Kiev to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.
“As long as he’s there. But at some point you’re going to have to have elections, too.”
Moscow has repeatedly questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy since his presidential term officially expired in May 2024, and he refused to hold new elections.
“It’s possible to negotiate with anyone. However, due to his illegitimacy, [Zelensky] has no right to sign anything,” the Russian president said last month, insisting that any potential agreement between Moscow and Kiev must be legally impeccable.
President Trump said that following his phone conversation with President Putin, he is now confident that the Russian leader shares his view that the Ukraine conflict must be resolved as soon as possible.
“We had a very good talk… People didn’t really know what President Putin’s thoughts were, but I think I can say with great confidence: he wants to see it end also,” Trump told journalists on Wednesday evening, promising to “work toward getting it ended, and as fast as possible.”
The US president stated that after his lengthy conversation with Putin, he had a “very good call” with Vladimir Zelensky and noted that the Ukrainian leader also seemed ready to put an end to the hostilities with Russia.
The official Kremlin readout of the Putin-Trump phone conversation emphasized the need to eliminate the “root causes” of the Ukraine conflict in order to reach a “sustainable settlement.”
Full statement:
The leaders discussed issues related to the prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States. The US President assured the President of Russia of the American side’s commitment to fulfill all the agreements reached.
The leaders also discussed a possible Ukraine settlement. Donald Trump spoke in favour of stopping the hostilities as soon as possible and solving the crisis peacefully.
In turn, Vladimir Putin pointed out it was necessary to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Donald Trump in that a sustainable settlement could only be reached via peaceful negotiations.
Additionally, the President of Russia expressed support for one of the US President’s key arguments, which was that it was time for both countries to work together.
The issues of Middle East settlement, Iran’s nuclear programme, and bilateral economic relations between Russia and the United States were also brought up during the conversation.
The President of Russia invited the US President to visit Moscow and expressed willingness to receive visiting officials from the United States to discuss topics of mutual interest, including a possible Ukraine settlement.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to maintain personal contact in the future, involving in particular in-person meetings.
President Trump has indicated that Ukraine will not be admitted to NATO as part of any ceasefire deal with Russia.
“I don’t think it’s practical to have it, personally. I know that our new Secretary of Defense, who’s excellent, made a statement today saying that he thinks it’s unlikely or impractical. I think, probably, that’s true,” Trump told reporters.
Trump acknowledged that Moscow has, for “many, many years,” insisted there was “no way they’d allow” Kiev to join the US-led military bloc.
“They’ve been saying that for a long time – that Ukraine cannot go into NATO. And I’m okay with that,” he said. “It certainly would seem that most people have said that that is something that’s not going to happen.”
President Trump has reiterated Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s assessment that attempting to return Ukraine to its 2014 borders is “unrealistic” and that Kiev will likely have to cede territory to Moscow to achieve peace.
“Well, I think Pete said today that that’s unlikely, right? It certainly would seem to be unlikely.
They took a lot of land,” Trump said of Russia during a question-and-answer session with reporters after a swearing-in ceremony for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
“I’m not making an opinion on it, but I’ve read a lot on it, and a lot of people think that that’s unlikely,” he added, noting that he believes only “some of it will come back.”
“I’m just here to try and get peace. I don’t care so much about anything other than I want to stop having millions of people killed!” Trump said.
President Trump has named Saudi Arabia as a potential host for his first meeting with President Putin during his second term. Moscow has not commented on the US president’s statement so far.
“The first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we get something done,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office.
Trump indicated that several meetings with Putin could take place in the coming months, saying, “We expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia,” according to Matt Viser, the White House bureau chief for The Washington Post.
The phone conversation between Putin and Trump has become the “main event” of the year thus far, according to the Vice Speaker of the Russian parliament’s upper chamber, Konstantin Kosachev.
The talks have laid the foundation for future contacts, any “breakthroughs are still far away,” he warned, while expressing cautious optimism about the looming negotiations.
“The situation, as they say, is without the right to make a mistake for both sides. I am sure that this is how the two leaders will instruct their negotiating teams,” Kosachev wrote on his Telegram channel.
“The mistakes will remain on the conscience of the Ukrainian and European politicians who provoked the current conflict. They will be held accountable by their voters.”
Europeans and Kiev must have a say in resolving the Ukraine conflict, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said, in the aftermath of the Trump-Putin phone talks.
“Peace can only be achieved together. And that means: with Ukraine and with the Europeans,” she told Politico. “We must take this path together so that peace returns to Europe.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she is not aware of any preconditions placed on Russia by US President Donald Trump before the negotiations.
At the same time, she did not rule out their existence. She also said it was too early to talk about a potential visit by Trump to Russia or the necessary conditions for that to actually happen.