Donald Trump held lengthy phone calls with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday and afterwards announced “it is time to stop this ridiculous war where there has been massive and totally unnecessary death and destruction”.
The conversations opened the possibility of Mr Trump visiting the Russian president in Moscow or of Mr Putin travelling to the White House in what would be an extraordinary thaw in US-Russia relations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she was not made aware of any pre-conditions before any state visit might take place, but “that doesn’t mean they don’t exist”.
Mr Trump, who vowed throughout his presidential campaign to bring a swift end to the Ukraine war, stated in a post on his Truth Social platform that his conversation with Mr Zelenskiy went “very well”.
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“He, like president [Vladimir] Putin, wants to make PEACE,” Mr Trump said, adding that Mr Zelenskiy would meet US vice-president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday.
Mr Trump’s intervention may leave Kyiv with little room for leverage following comments from US secretary for defence Pete Hegseth that Ukraine should not expect to regain all occupied territory, or secure the Nato membership it covets in any deal to end the war. He also ruled out sending US troops to act as peacekeepers.
Mr Hegseth dealt a heavy blow to Ukraine’s hopes with his comments at Nato headquarters in Brussels, where he also told European states that they must now “lead from the front” on continental security as Washington focuses on averting war with China.
“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” Mr Hegseth told officials from more than 40 countries that provide Kyiv with weapons.
Mr Zelenskiy has repeatedly said that only Nato membership and US security guarantees would ensure that Russia did not break any peace deal and launch a new invasion of his country, warning that the pledges and military power of European states do not intimidate the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said the call between Mr Putin and Mr Trump lasted almost 90 minutes. Asked how the White House views Russia, Ms Leavitt said: “I believe this nation views Putin and Russia as a great competitor in the region, at times an adversary. But as the president has said as well he enjoys having good diplomatic relationships with leaders around the world.”
