On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to swiftly bring an end to the war in Ukraine. This week, a pivotal phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and comments from his new Secretary of Defense brought his strategy for a peace deal into focus, sparking a global firestorm of criticism.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said he and Putin "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation."
President Trump also said that he and Putin agreed to visit each other's countries. If such a trip happens, it would be the first time a U.S. president has traveled to Russia since 2013.
Shortly after, the President shared a readout of a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Truth Social, saying the conversation "went well." He said Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would lead a U.S. delegation to meet with Zelenskyy in Munich on Friday.
"I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive. It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, death and destruction," Trump said.
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The call with Putin came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested in remarks in Belgium that Ukraine could not become a member of NATO.
"The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement," Hegseth said.
He also repeated Trump's calls for NATO allies to increase their defense spending, saying the U.S. was primarily focused on security challenges in Asia and at its own borders.
Those comments sent European allies reeling, but President Trump doubled down Thursday, citing Ukraine's NATO ambitions as the catalyst for Russia's invasion.
"Russia has taken over a pretty big chunk of territory and they also have said from day one long before President Putin, they've said they cannot have Ukraine be a NATO," Trump said. "I actually think that that was the thing that caused the start of the war."
Ahead of the meeting with Vance and Rubio on Friday, Zelenskyy said his Wednesday phone call with Trump was positive but said they did not discuss enough to "make a plan" for peace. He also said Ukraine needs "real security guarantees" in order to come to the negotiating table with Russia.
Following the meeting, Vance said the U.S. wants to "achieve a durable, lasting peace," that would not result in more conflict down the road.
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