US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a phone call on Wednesday to begin “negotiations” on ending the Ukraine war and would “work together, very closely” toward winding down the conflict.
“We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Trump said in a social media post disclosing details about a call that followed a prisoner swap between the two nations.
“But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”
The Republican president said the leaders also “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” and would be alerting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy about their conversation.
White House officials declined to clarify whether Ukraine would be a party to the US negotiations with Russia.
The call came on the heels of a prisoner swap in which Russia released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention on drug charges.
Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, is being freed as part of the swap that saw Moscow’s release of Fogel, according to people familiar with the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic details.
Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the US 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 currently in custody in California awaiting transport to return to Russia, the officials said.
The Kremlin said Wednesday 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 US soil.
Fogel, an American history teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, was released in what the White House described as a diplomatic thaw that could advance negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine. Fogel was arrested in August 2021 and was serving a 14-year prison sentence.
Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for Trump, left Russia with Fogel and took him to the White House, where Trump greeted him. Fogel was expected to be reunited with his family.
Trump declined to say if he spoke with Putin about Fogel and didn’t say what the United States provided in exchange for Fogel’s release.
Speaking to reporters at the White House 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.”
The Kremlin was more cautious, but it also noted that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust.
