US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine peace talks after a surprise phone call between the two leaders. In his first confirmed contact since Trump returned to the White House, the US president said he had a “long and very productive” conversation with his Russian counterpart, who ordered the bloody 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
But the move has raised concerns that Ukraine could be left out of his own future talks after Trump said Kiev’s desire to join NATO was “not practical.” Moscow’s main demand is that Kiev not be included in NATO. Trump, who has been pushing for a swift end to the nearly three-year war, denied that Ukraine had been left out of direct talks between the two nuclear-armed superpowers.
“We expect him to come here and I’ll go there — and we’ll probably meet in Saudi Arabia for the first time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office about his plans to meet Putin. Trump said he expected it to happen in the “not too distant future” and that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would be involved. The Saudi crown prince played a key role in the Russia-US prisoner swap this week.
The Kremlin said the phone call lasted about an hour and a half. The two leaders agreed that “the time has come to work together” and that Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow. Before taking office on January 20, Trump had promised to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours.”
Desire for peace
Earlier, Trump surprised the world by announcing the phone call on his Truth social media platform and using unconfirmed numbers on the conflict, saying that he and Putin “both want to stop the millions of deaths in the Russia/Ukraine war.” The US president said they agreed to “work very closely, including visiting each other’s countries,” and to “have their teams begin talks on Ukraine immediately.”
Trump later spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky did not participate in the phone call with Putin. Zelensky later said he had a “meaningful” conversation with Trump. He said Trump “shared the details” of the conversation with Putin during the call.
Trump said after the call, “Zelensky, like President Putin, wants peace.” In televised comments, Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office in Kiev, said Zelensky and Trump had agreed to “immediately” begin work by high-level teams from each side to try to reach an agreement.
“The teams will begin their daily work process, and Zelensky and his officials will meet with U.S. officials involved in the Munich Security Conference a day later,” Yermak said. But Trump’s phone call with Putin has raised concerns that the United States is agreeing to Russia’s terms.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told European counterparts on Wednesday that Ukraine’s dream of returning to its pre-2014 borders is an “illusionary goal” and that Kiev’s desire for NATO membership is “not realistic.”
Both are key demands from Moscow. Trump denied that Zelensky had been left out, and Hegseth’s comments rejected criticism that Washington had agreed to Russia’s preconditions. Meanwhile, Yermak reiterated Kiev’s stance that Ukraine’s “independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty” are non-negotiable.
The Ukrainian leader has been demanding strong security guarantees from Washington as part of any deal with Russia. Meanwhile, Trump has suggested a deal in exchange for continued military aid in exchange for Kiev’s rare earth minerals.
Root cause
Zelensky will meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant in Kiev on Wednesday and meet US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. The Kremlin’s statement on the phone call with Trump was more restrained.
Putin agreed with Trump that a long-term solution could be reached through peace talks, but he wanted to address the root causes of the conflict, the Kremlin said in a statement. Russia has blamed Western influence in Kiev for the root cause. This week, there were signs of an improvement in relations with a prisoner swap deal. In it, Moscow released American teacher Mark Fogel and Belarus released an American citizen, while Washington released Russian cryptocurrency kingpin Alexander Vinnik.
Trump has previously expressed admiration for Putin and praised the Russian president on his Truth social media posts. He thanked Mr. Fogel for his release, saying that “Putin also used my very strong campaign motto, ‘common sense.'” However, concerns are growing in Kiev and European capitals about the shape of a possible deal.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Spain stressed on Wednesday that “no just and lasting peace” can be achieved without the involvement of Kiev and its European partners.
