President Donald Trump said in a social media post he had a “lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” during which they discussed the mutual desire to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
President Donald Trump arrives to greet Marc Fogel at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in ... [+]
Trump said in the post on Truth Social—which came just before noon EST—he “asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff” to lead negotiations to end the war.
The president also implied the U.S. will work with Russia on other issues, saying while ending the Ukraine-Russia war is a priority, “we each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together.”
The Wednesday call is the first known conversation between the two leaders since Trump took office less than a month ago.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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Trump said in the post he and Putin agreed their teams had to “start negotiations immediately,” which he said would begin by informing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of their conversation. Trump said informing Zelenskyy was “something which I will be doing right now.”
Nearly 3. That’s about how many years it had been since former President Joe Biden had spoken to Putin, according to CNN, which first reported the call.
Russia Releases American Marc Fogel As Trump Administration Pushes For End To Ukraine War (Forbes)