WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, signaling a major shift in U.S. policy and raising concerns that Washington may sideline Kyiv in the process.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he spent more than an hour on the phone with Putin following a sudden prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine and believes the two sides are “on the way to getting peace.”
“I think President Putin wants peace, President Zelenskyy wants peace, and I want peace,” Trump said. “I just want to see people stop being killed.”
However, when asked whether Ukraine would be an equal participant in the negotiations, he was noncommittal.
Trump’s decision to engage directly with Putin suggests that Washington and Moscow could seek to hammer out a deal without full Ukrainian involvement—a move that would break from the Biden administration’s stance, which insisted Kyiv must be a central party in any peace agreement.
“People didn’t really know what President Putin’s thoughts were,” Trump said. “But I think I can say with great confidence, he wants to see it ended also, so that’s good—and we’re going to work toward getting it ended as fast as possible.”
He also indicated that he would “probably” meet Putin in person soon, possibly in Saudi Arabia.
Trump and Defense Secretary Question Ukraine’s NATO Prospects
In another setback for Ukraine’s Western aspirations, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at NATO headquarters in Brussels that Ukraine’s membership in the alliance was unrealistic—a stark departure from previous U.S. commitments.
“I don’t think it’s practical to have it, personally,” he said, referring to Ukraine’s NATO bid. He noted that Hegseth had also said it was ‘unlikely or impractical’ and added, “I think probably that’s true.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Biden administration and NATO allies had pledged that Ukraine’s membership was “inevitable.”
Trump, however, dismissed those promises, saying Russia has long opposed Ukraine joining NATO and that he is “OK with that.”
“They’ve been saying for a long time that Ukraine cannot go into NATO,” Trump said. “And I’m OK with that.”
