Donald Trump announces Ukraine peace talks after call with Russian President Vladimir Putin
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that he had a “lengthy and highly productive phone call” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking their first confirmed conversation since Trump’s re-election. Trump described the discussion as the start of a negotiation process to end the ongoing war in Ukraine, which remains a key priority for his administration.
In a social media post, Trump emphasized the importance of U.S.-Russia cooperation, stating, “We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.” (Estimates suggest several hundred thousand fatalities, rather than millions.)
For Putin, the call represents a diplomatic breakthrough, signaling a shift in Western efforts to isolate him following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. Since Trump’s victory in November, the Russian leader has openly praised him, fueling the Kremlin’s expectations that Trump’s administration may alter U.S. policy toward Moscow and reduce support for Ukraine.
Trump and Putin Hold First Call of Second Term, Discuss Ukraine War Resolution
President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had a “lengthy and highly productive phone call” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking their first confirmed conversation since the start of Trump’s second term. The discussion focused on negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, a key priority for the Trump administration.
Trump shared details of the conversation in a social media post, stating, “We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.” While Trump mentioned "millions" of deaths, estimates indicate that the conflict has resulted in several hundred thousand fatalities.
The call marks a significant moment in diplomatic relations, as Trump seeks a U.S.-backed resolution to the war that Russia initiated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his first official conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump during Trump’s second term as a major diplomatic breakthrough, signaling a shift from Western efforts to isolate Russia since its invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. The Kremlin has expressed optimism that Trump’s leadership could reshape U.S.-Russia relations and potentially reduce Washington’s support for Ukraine.
The high-level call between the two leaders came just a day after Russia agreed to release an imprisoned American teacher in exchange for the U.S. returning a convicted cybercriminal to Russia.
Trump has long advocated for improved relations with Moscow, driven by concerns over nuclear conflict. During his first term, he met with Putin at a summit in Helsinki, Finland, where he controversially sided with the Russian president’s denial of election interference, contradicting U.S. intelligence findings.
Throughout his re-election campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to resolve the Ukraine war within “24 hours,” emphasizing his negotiation skills and making the issue a top priority for his administration.
Trump, Putin, and Zelensky Position Themselves in Ukraine
Peace Negotiations
Following his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine would play a key role in any peace process. Zelensky stated on social media that he and Trump were “charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace,” quoting Trump’s words: “Let’s get it done.”
Trump described his conversation with Zelensky as having gone “very well,” adding that, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky also wanted peace. Trump announced that an initial meeting would be held on Friday in Munich, led by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. However, Trump did not clarify how Zelensky would fit into the broader talks between the U.S. and Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov confirmed that Putin’s phone call with Trump lasted nearly 90 minutes. The two leaders reportedly agreed to meet in person, with Putin inviting Trump to Moscow—an offer Trump referenced in his social media post. Peskov also noted that Putin emphasized the “need to el
iminate the root causes of the conflict,” signaling that Russia would seek significant concessions rather than simply agreeing to a cease-fire.
Meanwhile, Ukraine appears to have limited negotiating leverage. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, stated that Ukraine restoring its pre-2014 borders was an “unrealistic” goal. He further noted that Washington did not support Ukraine’s NATO membership as part of a realistic peace plan. Hegseth also echoed Trump’s long-standing stance that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defense.
Trump later reinforced Hegseth’s comments, telling reporters that “it’s unlikely” Ukraine will regain all its lost territory, acknowledging that “they took a lot of land and they fought for that land.” However, he suggested that “some of it will come back.” He also expressed skepticism about Ukraine’s NATO membership, calling it “not practical.”
Despite these remarks, Trump confirmed his commitment to continuing financial support for Ukraine, emphasizing that he wanted aid to be “secured.” He acknowledged that cutting off assistance entirely would allow Putin to claim victory.
Zelensky later revealed that his conversation with Trump included discussions about securing U.S. support in exchange for access to Ukrainian natural resources and drafting a new agreement on security, economic cooperation, and resource partnerships.
The United Nations welcomed any diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war. “We would appreciate any efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine that involve both Russian and Ukrainian participation,” U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq stated.
Following a meeting of European foreign ministers in Paris, the French Foreign Ministry reaffirmed support for Ukraine, stating that European nations were prepared to strengthen their assistance. The ministry emphasized that any negotiations must include Ukraine and Europe, stressing the importance of security guarantees and a just, lasting peace.
Trump revealed that his negotiating team would include Secretary of State Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Witkoff recently traveled to Moscow to secure the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who had been imprisoned in Russia for over three years.
Notably absent from the list was retired General Keith Kellogg, whom Trump had previously named as his envoy for Russia and Ukraine. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Kellogg remained “a critical part of this team and this effort” and continued to play an active role in the administration.
References:
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/us/politics/trump-putin-call-russia-ukraine-war.ht
- Ani. (2025, February 13). Trump speaks to Zelenskyy, discuss meeting set to be held in Munich: WH. www.business-standard.com. https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/trump-speaks-to-zelenskyy-discuss-meeting-set-to-be-held-in-munich-wh-125021300054_1.html
- Bohannon, M. (2025, February 12). Trump says he expects to meet Putin in Saudi Arabia after ‘Highly productive’ call about war in Ukraine. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/02/12/trump-says-he-expects-to-meet-putin-in-saudi-arabia-after-highly-productive-call-about-war-in-ukraine/
- Explorepedia. (n.d.-a). https://explorepedia.org/explore/donald-trump
- Explorepedia. (n.d.-b). https://explorepedia.org/explore/vladimir-putin
- Explorepedia. (n.d.-c). https://explorepedia.org/explore/donald-trump
- Explorepedia. (n.d.-d). https://explorepedia.org/explore/vladimir-putin
- Islam, T. (2025, February 12). Trump hails Russia’s ‘very nice’ treatment in Fogel’s release, Hints at future cooperation - BLiTZ. BLiTZ. https://weeklyblitz.net/2025/02/13/trump-hails-russias-very-nice-treatment-in-fogels-release-hints-at-future-cooperation/
- Persons ∙ Directory ∙ President of Russia. (n.d.). President of Russia. http://www.en.kremlin.ru/catalog/persons/309/biography
- Staff, A. J. (2025, February 12). Who is Marc Fogel, . http://aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/12/who-is-marc-fogel-the-us-teacher-released-by-russia
- Texts adopted - Continued financial and military . https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2024-0012_EN.html
- UN welcomes efforts to resolve Ukraine conflict following Trump-Putin phone call. (n.d.). https://english.news.cn/20250213/5ee4321678eb4b43ade3f844ea1bbd06/c.html
- Walker, S. (2025, February 12). Zelenskyy: Europe cannot guarantee. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/11/zelenskyy-
- Wendling, B. D. J. a. T. W. H. a. M. (2025, February 13). Trump says Putin agrees to start talks to end war in Ukraine. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04n622gzx7