WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine on Wednesday, saying that he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a sudden prisoner swap.
Trump said in a social media post that he and Putin held a lengthy phone call and committed to "work together, very closely" to bring the conflict to an end and would meet in person, including perhaps in each other's countries.
Trump subsequently announced that he'd also spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but only after his talk with Putin. After the calls, White House officials declined to clarify whether Ukraine would be a party to the U.S. negotiations.
That sent a potentially dramatic signal that Washington and Moscow might work to hammer out a deal to end fighting in Ukraine by going around that country's government. Doing so would break with the Biden administration, which steadfastly insisted Kyiv would be a full participant in any decisions made.
In another blow to Ukraine's Western-leaning aspirations, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at NATO headquarters in Brussels that NATO membership was unrealistic for Ukraine, it should abandon hopes of winning all its territory back from Russia and any security guarantees for Kyiv would have to be borne by European countries.
“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Biden administration had joined other NATO members in vowing that membership in the Western military alliance was "inevitable."
Zelenskyy sought to put a brave face on what many in Ukraine will see as a major disappointment. In a social media post, he said he had “a meaningful conversation" with Trump that included discussion of “opportunities to achieve peace” and Kyiv’s “readiness to work together at the team level.”
“I am grateful to President Trump,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conversation between Trump and Putin covered a good deal of ground, including the Middle East and Iran, but that Ukraine was the main focus.
Peskov said Trump called for a quick cessation of hostilities and a peaceful settlement, and that “President Putin, in his turn, emphasized the need to remove the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be achieved through peace talks.”
“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,” 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.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of Trump's conversations with both Putin and Zelenskyy: “They were very good calls. They were very positive.”
But when she was asked specifically about the administration's views on Ukraine's NATO membership, she said only that she had not spoken to Trump about it.
“I believe this nation views Putin and Russia as a great competitor in the region. At times, an adversary,” Leavitt said. She also noted of Trump: “At times, he enjoys having good diplomatic relationships with leaders around the world.”
Still, working more closely with Putin on Ukraine directly defies Biden, who, together with his top national security aides, repeatedly insisted, “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special Russia-Ukraine envoy, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, will all be in Germany this week for the annual Munich Security Conference, which Zelenskyy also will attend. Leavitt said discussions will continue then.
Trump had already dispatched Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Kyiv to discuss a potential economic cooperation agreement that the president has hinted should include provisions for Ukraine to pay for U.S. support with access to its rare earth minerals, energy and other resources.
Wednesday's Trump-Putin call and the resulting policy sea change followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing Pennsylvania schoolteacher Marc Fogel after more than three years of detention in return for convicted Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik.
The White House has described the prisoner swap as evidence of a diplomatic thaw that could advance negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine.
In a social media post detailing his call with Putin, Trump wrote, “We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together."
“But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump wrote.
Trump said he and Putin also “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately." He appointed Rubio, CIA director John Ratcliffe, national security adviser Michael Waltz and his special Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff to lead those talks.
Leavitt didn't comment on whether Ukraine came up during the prisoner swap.
Fogel, who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, was arrested in August 2021 for possession of marijuana and was serving a 14-year prison sentence. He had been left out of previous prisoner swaps with Russia that were negotiated by the Biden administration.
Vinnik — the other person involved, according to two U.S. officials — was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He is in custody in California awaiting transport to Russia, the officials said. The Kremlin confirmed that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Fogel but refused to identify him until he arrives in Russia.
Trump welcomed Fogel at the White House on Tuesday evening after his return to the U.S. on Witkoff's personal plane. On Wednesday, Trump declined to say if he spoke with Putin about Fogel and didn't say what the United States had provided in exchange for Fogel’s release.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Fogel's release could help anchor a peace deal on Ukraine, saying: “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”
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AP reporter Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.
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