The US President Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Putin. They discussed Ukraine and agreed to assign teams to begin negotiations. The US president will inform Volodymyr Zelensky about the conversation with Putin.
CNN first reported on this conversation, and Trump later confirmed it.
According to the American president, the conversation was “long and very productive”. They discussed Ukraine and reflected on the “great history of our peoples” and how they successfully fought in World War II. Trump emphasized that both he and Putin agreed that they wanted to stop the millions of deaths in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
"We agreed to work closely together, including mutual visits to our countries. We also agreed to immediately instruct our teams to begin negotiations, and the first step will be to call President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to inform him of our conversation — I will do so right now," Trump wrote.
He stressed that he has tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Representative Steve Witkoff to lead the negotiations. Trump is confident that they will be successful.
In addition, Trump thanked Putin for releasing Mark Vogel.
"I believe that these efforts will lead to a successful conclusion, and hopefully very soon," the American president concluded.
Trumpʼs plans for war in Ukraine
During the election campaign, Trump claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine “in one day”. However, after being elected president, his narratives changed. The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal wrote that he instructed special envoy Keith Kellogg to end the war in 100 days.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that the state will defend its integrity and will not cede its territories to Russia. In September 2024, Zelensky met with Donald Trump and presented him with a victory plan. According to the Ukrainian leader, the meeting was very meaningful.
New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that under Donald Trumpʼs presidency, ending the Russian-Ukrainian war will be the official policy of the United States. He said that he could not give a specific date for the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine, but both sides will have to make some concessions because they will not be able to achieve their maximum goals.
And Trump himself, two days after his inauguration, called on Putin to end the war — otherwise he would impose large taxes and sanctions.
Zelensky said he likes Trumpʼs tactics for ending hostilities. However, he stressed that Trump and Putinʼs talks about a war without Ukraine are dangerous for everyone.
On February 9, Trump said in an interview with the New York Post that he has a specific plan to end the war and wants to make a $500 billion deal with Volodymyr Zelensky for access to rare earth minerals and gas in Ukraine in exchange for security guarantees in a potential peace deal.
This was probably the second conversation between Putin and Trump today. The New York Post reported on Trump and Putinʼs first phone conversation on February 9.
The next day, Trump said the United States was making progress in talks to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, but declined to provide details about any contacts with Putin. He said at the time that the United States was in contact with Russia and Ukraine and “talking to both sides”.
On February 11, the American president said that Ukraine had “essentially agreed” to transfer half a trillion dollars in rare earth metals to Washington as payment for American military aid. Before that, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv was open to partnership on this issue.
On February 12, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant brought a draft mineral agreement to Ukraine.
After meeting with Scott Bessent, Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Ukrainian side would make a decision after reviewing the document.
- Bloomberg recently reported that the Trump administration would present a plan to end Russiaʼs war against Ukraine on February 14-16 at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. However, Kellogg denied this.
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