Breaking: Trump and Putin to begin ‘negotiations’ on ending Ukraine war

President Donald Trump has said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a phone call to begin “negotiations” on ending the Ukraine war and would “work together, very closely” on winding down the conflict.

“We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Mr Trump said in a social media post disclosing details about a call that followed a prisoner swap between the two nations.

“But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine.”

The Republican said the leaders also “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” and would be alerting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky about their conversation.

White House officials declined to clarify whether Ukraine would be a party to the US negotiations with Russia.

The call came on after a prisoner swap in which Russia released schoolteacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention on drug charges.

Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of the swap that saw Moscow’s release of Mr Fogel.

Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the US on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is currently in custody in California awaiting his return to Russia, officials said.

Mr Trump welcomed Mr Fogel at the White House on Tuesday evening after his return to US soil.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Mr Trump suggested that Fogel’s release could help anchor a peace deal on Ukraine, saying: “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”

The Kremlin was more cautious but it also noted that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust.

Published: 12/02/2025 by Radio NewsHub