Ukraine Conflict: Donald Trump Announces Immediate Start of Peace Negotiations with Russia | World News
Donald Trump has announced that there is a consensus to initiate discussions aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, after engaging in conversations with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
This marks the first significant diplomatic move from the US president regarding a conflict he vowed to end within 24 hours of taking office.
“We both concurred that we want to halt the millions of deaths occurring in the conflict involving Russia/Ukraine,” Mr. Trump stated on Truth Social after his talks with the Russian president.
He mentioned the intention to “collaborate closely” on reducing the conflict and stated, “we agreed to have our teams commence negotiations immediately.”
Donald Trump has spurred the initiation of peace talks with Vladimir Putin. File pic: AP
A spokesperson for the Kremlin indicated that Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump have agreed to meet, with the Russian leader extending an invitation for the US president to visit Moscow.
Latest on Ukraine: Trump’s strategy to end the war
“President Putin also expressed the importance of addressing the underlying issues of the conflict and concurred with Trump that a sustainable resolution can be found through peaceful negotiations,” remarked Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy conversing on the phone with Donald Trump on Wednesday. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters
At the same time, Ukraine’s president shared on X about having a “significant conversation” with Mr. Trump regarding “possibilities for achieving peace” and developing a document concerning security and economic cooperation.
“No one desires peace more than Ukraine. We, alongside the US, are planning our next steps to halt Russian aggression and establish a lasting, dependable peace,” he stated.
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Trump-Putin call: What do we know?
Mr. Trump remarked that his phone conversation with Mr. Zelenskyy “was very positive,” implying that “he [Mr. Zelenskyy], similar to President Putin, seeks to establish PEACE.”
The US president also stated on social media: “It is time to conclude this absurd War, which has resulted in immense, and completely needless, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the inhabitants of Russia and Ukraine!”
Trump’s shocking phone call
Trump’s shocking phone call raises many unanswered questions.
He claims that NATO has been working throughout the day to address the disunity caused by defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who stated it’s unrealistic for Ukraine to regain all its territory in a peace agreement or to join NATO.
This portrayal of unity is beginning to crumble.
Trump’s phone call with Putin marks a deviation from three years of steadfast agreement among NATO members that discussions regarding Ukraine should not occur without Ukraine being involved.
The president’s declaration that Russian and US teams will initiate negotiations leaves uncertain whether these discussions will be bilateral or include Kyiv.
It appears Donald Trump may have made commitments during that phone call with Putin that the Russians anticipate him to uphold—what are those commitments?
On Wednesday, the US defense secretary issued a pointed message regarding the new US administration’s methods towards the nearly three-year-long conflict.
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During a NATO meeting in Brussels, Pete Hegseth remarked that restoring Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders was impractical and that the US does not view NATO membership for Kyiv as a component of a solution to the conflict.
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Pete Hegseth: Ukraine getting all land back in peace deal ‘not realistic’
“Pursuing this illusory goal will only extend the conflict and bring about further suffering,” he remarked.
In a separate agreement, the US and Russia coordinated a prisoner exchange, wherein America released a Russian cybercrime figure in return for Moscow’s release of schoolteacher Marc Fogel, a US official stated on Wednesday.
During a news briefing at the White House on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt commented that she was “unaware of” Mr. Trump setting any preconditions for his meeting with Mr. Putin.
Mr. Trump also noted that the peace negotiations would be spearheaded by secretary of state Marco Rubio, CIA director John Ratcliffe, national security advisor Michael Waltz, and ambassador Steve Witkoff.
