Egypt Daily News – US President Donald Trump said he will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia. He explained that the date of the meeting has not yet been determined, noting that it will include Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The announcement of the meeting came after a phone call between Putin and Trump today, in which they discussed ending the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Donald Trump stated that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine will begin “immediately,” following a “long and highly productive” phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
The call, which marks the first known conversation between the two leaders since Trump reassumed office last month, came as Trump made it clear to his advisors that he wants to quickly resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
Officials in the Trump administration said they hope that Tuesday’s “exchange” of prisoners signals renewed efforts to end the war, which is nearing its fourth year. Now, with the two leaders resuming communication after a long period of silence between the White House and the Kremlin, the outlines of Trump’s settlement plan have become clearer.
He added, “We both reflected on the great history of our countries, the fact that we fought together very successfully in World War II, and remembered that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and similarly, we lost so many! Each of us spoke about the strengths of our nations and the great benefit we will one day gain from working together,” according to the Russian news site Russia Today.
In a readout of the conversation published on Truth Social, Trump said, “We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the strength of the dollar, and various other topics.”
Trump wrote: “We agreed to work together very closely, including visiting each other’s countries. We also agreed that our respective teams would begin negotiations immediately, and we will start by contacting President Zelensky of Ukraine to inform him of the conversation, which I will do now.”
Both Washington and Moscow, in their descriptions of the call, indicated that the two leaders adopted a conciliatory tone.
Trump added, “Even President Putin used my very strong campaign slogan, ‘Common Sense.’ We strongly believe in it,” noting that Putin chose his words carefully to address him.
The Kremlin stated that Trump and Putin spoke for about 90 minutes.
Trump has been hinting for weeks at his desire to speak with Putin while working to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
As U.S. officials travel across Europe this week, they have begun to take clearer positions on what the outcome of the war in Ukraine might look like. Speaking at a conference in Brussels, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Kyiv’s accession to NATO is unrealistic and that the United States will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security as the Trump administration shifts its focus to securing U.S. borders and the dispute with China.
Meanwhile, Trump has spoken of striking a deal with Zelensky in Ukraine to obtain the country’s valuable rare earth minerals as payment in exchange for continued U.S. assistance.
Steve Witkoff, who would be among Trump’s top negotiators on the conflict, earlier on Wednesday pointed to the release of American Mark Vogel, detained by Russia, as a “sign of possibilities” for the future of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He said, “I think this might be a sign of how the working relationship between President Trump and President Putin could evolve in the future, and what that might portend for the entire world, regarding the conflict and so on. I think they have a great friendship, and I think it will continue now, and that’s really good for the world.”
