President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations “immediately” to bring an end to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Trump made the bombshell announcement in an extensive post on his Truth Social account, saying that the two leaders had a 90-minute phone conversation that day.
The President also said that both had agreed to visit each other’s countries in the near future. “We want to stop the millions of deaths taking pace in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump, 78, wrote on Truth Social. He described the conflict as the largest and most devastating land war in Europe since World War II.
Trump-Putin Look for a Solution
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Trump also said that the war “would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end. No more lives should be lost!”
Trump further said that the negotiation process “will begin by calling President Zelenskyy [sic], of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” before sharing that the U.S. delegation for any peace talks would be headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff.
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The president also said that he and the Russian leader showed willingness to “visit each other’s nations.”
Trump shared details of the “lengthy and highly productive phone call,” noting that he and Putin had also talked about “the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the strength of the dollar, and several other subjects.
“We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many!” the president went on.
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“We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together … President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.’ We both believe very strongly in it.”
Sigs of a New Dawn
The phone call came after a prisoner exchange that saw Russia release American teacher Marc Fogel from Pennsylvania, who had been held in detention for over three years. Trump greeted Fogel at the White House on Tuesday evening after his return to the U.S.
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“! I want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call, and for the release, yesterday, of Marc Fogel, a wonderful man that I personally greeted last night at the White House. I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
As part of the exchange, convicted Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik is also being released.
Vinnik, who was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on charges related to cryptocurrency fraud, was later extradited to the U.S.
He pleaded guilty last year to a conspiracy to commit money laundering. Currently in custody in California, he is awaiting transport to Russia, according to officials from the Associated Press.
