President Donald Trump announced Wednesday (12/2) that he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone call to “immediately” begin negotiations with Ukraine’s leader to end the nearly three-year conflict.
“We will start by calling President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, to inform him of these talks, something I will be doing now,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social .
“I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead negotiations that, I am confident, will be successful.”
Trump did not specify what conditions might be needed to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is in Germany for a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, downplayed Ukraine's main demand, NATO membership.
“The United States does not believe that NATO membership in Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said.
Witkoff: Trump-Putin-MBS Friendship Key to US Prisoner Release
President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was also the lead negotiator for the release of U.S. detainees from Russian custody, on Wednesday praised Trump's “deep friendship” with the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia as key to freeing Marc Fogel from Russian custody on Tuesday night (2/11).
“I think getting Mark Fogel out was very important and Russia was very, very helpful in that effort and very accommodating,” Witkoff told reporters at the White House, adding “and I think that’s probably a sign of what the working relationship between President Trump and President Putin will be like in the future, and what the conflicts and so forth may portend for the world as a whole. I think they have a great friendship. And I think that’s going to continue now and that’s a very good thing for the world.”
Trump welcomed Fogel to the White House Tuesday night. He has been in custody since August 2021 for bringing prescription medical marijuana into the country.
Trump said he appreciated what Russia did in allowing Fogel to return, but declined to detail any agreement with Russia other than to call it “very fair” and “very reasonable.”
Trump also said the release of other hostages would be announced on Wednesday.
No Details Yet on US-Russian Prisoner Release Deal
White House National Security Adviser Michael Waltz said Tuesday morning that the United States and Russia were “negotiating a trade-off” to free Fogel but did not provide details about what the deal entailed. In previous such deals, the U.S. has often freed Russian prisoners wanted by Moscow in return.
Instead, Waltz defined the Fogel release deal in broader geopolitical terms, saying it was “a show of good faith from Russia and a sign that we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and horrific war in Ukraine.” That was a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people on both sides.
Before taking office on Feb. 20, Trump had promised to broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. But aides have recently said he hopes to do so within the first 100 days of his new administration, which could be by the end of April.
“Since President Trump’s inauguration, he has successfully secured the release of detained Americans around the world, and President Trump will continue to do so until all detained Americans are returned to the United States,” Waltz said. The recent release of six Americans detained in Venezuela and Fogel’s release are the only publicly known examples
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