The tone is restrained: "President Trump shared details of his conversation with Putin. No one wants peace more than Ukraine," wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on X, following a call with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, on Wednesday, February 12. Trump had just agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the "immediate" opening of peace negotiations, breaking with Joe Biden's administration, which had firmly insisted on Kyiv's full participation in any talks.

Zelensky insisted on including his country in these negotiations, asserting that he and Trump had agreed to maintain further contact: "Together with the US, we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace." But the Ukrainian leader had no choice but to act on the promise of negotiations announced on Wednesday. Since the American presidential campaign, Ukraine's authorities have refrained from the slightest criticism of Trump, for fear of alienating the support of its most powerful ally.

In response to the US president's campaign promises to bring the war to a swift end, Zelensky has in recent weeks repeatedly shown himself open to peace talks. In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, broadcast on February 4, he said he was ready, for the first time, for direct negotiations with Putin and other leaders, "if that is the only set-up in which we can bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine and not lose people."

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