President Trump revealed Wednesday that he had a “lengthy and highly productive” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as Mr. Trump moved to fulfill a campaign pledge to quickly halt the fighting in the nearly three-year war.
The telephone conversations came as new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was delivering a blunt message to members of the broad coalition supporting Ukraine that European powers must step up their contributions to Kyiv and that American soldiers would not be part of any deployment to enforce a potential ceasefire.
Mr. Trump said he and Mr. Putin talked primarily about the war, but also discussed the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the dollar and other topics. Mr. Trump has roundly criticized the war as a waste and many in his political base have questioned the tens of billions of dollars the Biden administration has given Kyiv since Russia first invaded in February of 2022, setting off the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
Russia’s Tass news service said the Kremlin had confirmed the phone conversation — the first known direct contact between the two leaders since Mr. Trump took office last month. The phone call lasted nearly 90 minutes and that the two leaders had agreed to “hold an in-person meeting” in the near future, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“The Russian president supported one of the main theses of the U.S. president that the time has come for our two countries to work together,” Mr. Peskov told reporters. “The Russian president invited the U.S. president to visit Moscow and expressed readiness to host U.S. officials in Russia for issues of mutual interest, naturally including Ukraine, the Ukrainian settlement.”
Mr. Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office that a meeting with Mr. Putin was planned for Saudi Arabia, but did not give a date. He said de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had helped facilitate the meeting.
Mr. Zelenskyy’s office also confirmed that he and Mr. Trump had spoken, shortly after the Putin conversation.
Mr. Trump wrote that he and Mr. Putin “agreed we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Mr. Trump wrote. ” … We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations.”
He said he and Mr. Putin agreed to “work together very closely” and to start negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
In another Truth Social post, Mr. Trump said the conversation with Mr. Zelenskyy also went “very well,” adding, “He, like President Putin, wants to make peace.”
The phone calls magnify the importance of the major annual security summit in Munich, Germany that kicks off Friday and which Mr. Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance will lead the American delegation to the conference.
Hegseth in Brussels
Mr. Hegseth used his first official trip to Europe Wednesday to underscore President Trump’s strong desire to end the fighting in Ukraine, but informed NATO leaders that the U.S. would not send troops for any future peacekeeping operations.
Mr. Hegseth provided a blunt assessment of the Trump administration’s security priorities while in Brussels for a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a group of some 50 allies and partners set up under the Biden administration to support Kyiv.
“President Trump has been clear with the American people and many of your leaders: Stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace is a top priority,” he said. “We will only end this devastating war and establish a durable peace by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.”
Mr. Hegseth also offered at least a hint of what the Trump administration would consider an acceptable compromise to end the war, at a time when Russian forces occupy about a fifth of Ukraine’s territory in the east, south and the Crimean peninsula, while Ukrainian forces hold a much smaller sliver of Russian border territory in the Kursk region.
A return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders — before Mr. Putin unilaterally annexed Crimea — would be an “unrealistic objective,” Mr. Hegseth said.
“Chasing this illusory goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he said.
A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that more fighting won’t erupt in the future. However, Mr. Hegseth said NATO membership for Kyiv, a goal long pushed by Mr. Zelenskyy as a guarantee against future Russian aggression, also is not a “realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”
Future security guarantees must be backed up by European and non-European military forces, but they should not be there as part of a NATO operation, Mr. Hegseth said, adding that the U.S. will not put “boots on the ground” in Ukraine.
“Safeguarding European security must be imperative for European members of NATO,” he said. “Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine.”
But Mr. Trump’s unexpected personal diplomacy caused waves on the continent, where top officials said the major EU powers deserved a say in any final Ukraine resolution.
“If Europe is responsible for Ukraine’s security and could even provide troops [under a ceasefire agreement], then we should have a seat at the table and be consulted with the Americans,” one European official to the British Guardian newspaper. “And we have not been consulted.”
Before the new U.S. defense chief spoke, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told The Associated Press that Russia’s Mr. Putin will only negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine if Kyiv’s backers continue to provide enough weapons and ammunition.
“We have to make sure that he has no other option, and that means to force him to the table,” Mr. Rutte said. “He needs to understand that we will not give up on Ukraine. We have to make sure that we have maximum economic impact on Russia.”
Over nearly three years, the Contact Group countries have collectively provided Ukraine with more than $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including more than $66.5 billion from the U.S., which has served as the chair of the group since its creation, the AP reported.
’Stark strategic realities’
Mr. Hegseth said “stark strategic realities” prevent the U.S. from being primarily focused on the security of Europe. The Trump administration is investing heavily on the security of U.S. borders where Mr. Hegseth claimed it faces “consequential threats” to the homeland.
“We also face a peer competitor in the communist Chinese with a capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific,” Mr. Hegseth said.
The Trump administration will increase energy production and encourage other countries to do the same to drive down energy prices that fund the Russian war machine. The strategy will enable effective diplomacy and help bring Moscow to the negotiation table, Mr. Hegseth argued.
The U.S. is primarily focused on deterring war with China, recognizing the “reality of scarcity” that means European allies must lead from the front in Europe, he said.
“Together, we can establish a division of labor that maximizes our comparative advantages in Europe and the Pacific,” Mr. Hegseth said.
Despite concerns in European capitals about Mr. Trump’s foreign policy priorities, the United States remains committed to the NATO alliance and the defense partnership with its European allies, Mr. Hegseth insisted.
However, “the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency. Our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security,” he said. “Honesty will be our policy going forward, but only in the spirit of solidarity.”
NATO leaders are expected to agree on new spending targets at their next planned summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24 to 26.
Mr. Trump’s diplomacy has left Mr. Zelenskyy in a delicate position, at a time when his forces are steadily losing ground to a larger Russian army in the east. The Ukrainian leader, hailed globally for his leadership in halting the original Russian invading forces, has long sought NATO membership for Ukraine and a return of all Russian-occupied territory as part of a final peace deal.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Hegseth suggested Kyiv will have to settle for far less, and Ukraine, heavily dependent on U.S. arms and financial support, may have to accede.
The Ukrainian president tried to put a positive spin on his talk with Mr. Trump Wednesday, calling it a “meaningful” conversation.
“No one wants peace more than Ukraine,” he wrote in an online post. “Together with the U.S., we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace. As President Trump said, let’s get it done.”
• David R. Sands and Jeff Mordock contributed to this story, which is based in part on wire service reports.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.