Trump to Meet With Putin in Bid to End Ukraine War

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he plans to hold a series of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first being in Saudi Arabia “in the not too distant future.”

Trump revealed his plans after inviting reporters into the Oval Office for the swearing in of Tulsi Gabbard as his new director of National Intelligence.

Earlier in the day, the Senate voted 52-48 to confirm her appointment.

But the big news — and a major shift in U.S. policy — was the upcoming meetings with Putin.

“We expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Trump’s comments came hours after he spoke with Putin on the phone, a conversation he noted on his Truth Social platform.

“I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” the president wrote, saying that in addition to Ukraine, the two discussed the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the strength of the U.S. dollar “and various other subjects.”

“We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II,” Trump said.

“We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” he continued. “But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”

The president also said he and Putin had agreed to “immediately” have their respective diplomatic teams meet to begin negotiations for an end to the war.

Trump has asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations.

“I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!” Trump wrote.

A few hours later, the president announced he’s also spoken to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. 

“The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to make peace,” Trump wrote.

Though they discussed the war, the president said they mostly discussed a planned meeting between Zelenskyy, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, while the three are attending this week’s Munich Security Conference.

“I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive,” Trump said. “It is time to stop this ridiculous war, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, death and destruction,” Trump wrote. “God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!”

Asked if his conversations with Putin have effectively made Zelenskyy a junior member of the peace process, Trump responded by saying “interesting question.”

“I think they have to make peace. People are being killed. … I think they have to make peace. That’s what I think,” he said.

Asked again whether he was freezing Zelenskyy out of the process, Trump said, “No.”

“I don’t think so as long as he’s there,” he said.

The president also stood by statements made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a speech in Europe earlier in the day.

According to CNN, Hegseth said Ukraine’s getting NATO membership or a return of land to its pre-2014 borders, when Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatists who took over swaths of the country’s east, were “unrealistic” goals for any peace process the parties engage in.

Hegsethalso said explicitly that the U.S. would not focus on European security, and any security guarantees for Ukraine would have to come from Europe.

“I think it’s probably true,” Trump said of Hegseth’s statement about Ukraine joining NATO.

“Putin long ago said there’s no way that Russia would allow that. This has been going on for many, many years,” the president said.

As for Zelenskyy  ceding territory or exchanging territory as the price of peace, Trump said “he’s going to have to do what he has to do.”

Asked specifically about Ukraine returning to its pre-2014 borders, the president again said he agreed with Hegseth’s assessment. 

“It certainly would seem to be unlikely,” he said. 

“I’m not stating an opinion on it, but I’ve read a lot on it and a lot of people think that it is unlikely,” Trump continued. “But some of it will come back. I think some of it will come back.”

The president also discussed the hundreds of billions in aid, including $56.3 billion in security assistance, that the U.S. has provided to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.  

In doing so, he mentioned that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is already in Ukraine, meeting with Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials.

According to Reuters, Bessent, the first cabinet-level official in Trump’s administration to visit the war-torn country, is there to discuss U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, energy resources and energy assets.

The future of some of Ukraine’s state-owned enterprises will also be discussed, Reuters sources said.

Trump said the Treasury Secretary’s mission is “to get a document done,” and get assurances that the U.S. is going to get the money back “in some form.”

“As you know, Europe is putting up money in the form of a loan. And the United States, under Biden, didn’t do loans. They just had this money. Every time somebody walked in from Ukraine, they just handed the money foolishly,” the president said. “This should have never happened. It should have never started, and once it did, other things shouldn’t have happened. 

“They have rare earth minerals, and they have oil and gas and other things, so we’re asking for security on our money,” he said.

All of this activity came on the heels of Russia’s release of detained American teacher Marc Fogel, whom Trump welcomed to the White House last night.

According to The New York Times, Fogel was traded for Alexander Vinnik, a Russian computer expert convicted on charges of money laundering.

Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had helped push the hostage deal forward. 

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue