CNN
By Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump stated negotiations to finish the Ukraine struggle will begin “immediately” after holding a “lengthy and highly productive” phone name with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning.
The decision, which is the primary recognized dialog between the presidents since Trump assumed workplace final month, got here as as Trump makes clear to his advisers he desires to convey the Ukraine battle to a swift finish.
Trump administration officers stated they hoped a prisoner “exchange” on Tuesday may portend renewed efforts to finish the struggle, which is about to enter its fourth yr.
Now, as the 2 leaders resume communication after a protracted interval of silence between the White Home and Kremlin, the contours of Trump’s settlement plan are coming into clearer focus.
In a readout of the dialog posted on Reality Social, Trump stated, “We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects.”
“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” Trump wrote.
Each Washington and Moscow, of their descriptions of the decision, advised the lads assumed a conciliatory tone.
“President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.’ We both believe very strongly in it,” Trump wrote, suggesting the previous KGB agent on the opposite finish of the road had chosen his phrases fastidiously to attraction to the US chief.
The Kremlin stated Trump and Putin spoke for practically 90 minutes.
Trump had been signaling for weeks his want to talk with Putin as he works to resolve the Ukraine battle.
As American officers journey in Europe this week, they’ve begun taking clearer positions on how the conclusion of the Ukraine struggle would possibly look. Talking to a convention in Brussels, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth stated Kyiv becoming a member of NATO is unrealistic and that the US will now not prioritize European and Ukrainian safety because the Trump administration shifts its consideration to securing US borders and deterring struggle with China.
In the meantime, Trump has spoken of hanging a take care of Ukraine’s Zelensky for American entry to the nation’s precious uncommon earth minerals as fee for continued American help.
Trump spoke with Zelensky noon, shortly after getting off the telephone with Putin.
His predecessor, President Joe Biden, hadn’t spoken to his Russian counterpart in practically three years, believing there was little to be gained in chatting with a pacesetter he’d deemed a struggle prison.
The final US president to go to Russia was Barack Obama in 2013, when he attended a G20 summit. Putin final visited in the USA in 2015 to attend United Nations talks.
Steve Witkoff, who can be amongst Trump’s prime negotiators on the battle, pointed earlier Wednesday to the discharge of wrongfully detained American Marc Fogel as “an indication of what the possibilities are” for the way forward for Russia’s struggle in Ukraine.
“I think that’s maybe a sign about how that working relationship between President Trump and President Putin will be in the future, and what that may portend for the world at large, for conflict and so forth. I think they had a great friendship, and I think now it’s going to continue, and it’s a really good thing for the world,” he stated.
Witkoff met privately with Putin whereas in Moscow on Tuesday, two sources accustomed to the assembly instructed CNN.
CNN’s Anna Chernova and Christian Edwards contributed to this report.
This story and headline have been up to date with further developments.
The-CNN-Wire
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