Trump says he and Putin have agreed to begin ‘negotiations’ on ending Ukraine war
US President Donald Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin “negotiations” on ending Ukraine war.
The Republican said in a social media post Wednesday disclosing a call between the two leaders that they would “work together, very closely”.
The call followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing American teacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention.
Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of a swap that saw Moscow’s release of Fogel, two US officials confirmed on Wednesday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the swap.
The leaders spoke for nearly an hour and a half and agreed to meet, the Kremlin said, in what was Putin’s first known direct contact with a US president since February 2022.
Putin last spoke to a sitting US president in February 2022 when he had a call with Joe Biden shortly before ordering thousands of troops into Ukraine.