Trump expects he and Putin to meet at mutual friends' place - in Saudi Arabia
US President Donald Trump told reporters that he will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia, after previously... telephone conversation agreed to immediately begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, reported "Reuters".
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"We'll meet in Saudi Arabia," Trump told reporters at the White House.
In addition to talks with Putin, Trump spoke today and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a lengthy post on his social media account "Truth Social" later, Trump said that he and Putin "agreed that their negotiating teams would begin negotiations immediately."
The Kremlin said Trump and Putin spoke for about an hour and a half and agreed to meet. The Russian news agency TASS reported that Putin invited Trump to visit Moscow.
Trump in the post speaks of a "long and very productive" conversation with his Russian counterpart on "Ukraine, the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the strength of the dollar and various other topics."
The US president told reporters at the White House that it was "not practical" for Ukraine to join NATO, commenting on the the message from his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegsett, to allies in Brussels today – that the country's membership in the Alliance is not a realistic option.
"That's true. I think long before President Putin, they (Russia) said that under no circumstances would they allow that to happen," Trump said, speaking at the White House.
After his conversation with the Ukrainian president, Trump wrote on social media that Zelensky "wants to make peace."
"The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to achieve PEACE," he wrote.
Zelensky's office later announced that he and Trump had spoken for about an hour, and the Ukrainian president himself wrote on Twitter that he and Trump had discussed "the possibilities of achieving peace," "our willingness to work together... and Ukraine's technological capabilities... including drones and other advanced industries."
The move to end the war in Ukraine announced by Trump today has been met with a backlash from Europe. The heads of Spanish, German and French diplomacy in Paris issued a joint statement they ordered that "no decision can be made on Ukraine without Kiev and without the participation of Europe."
