Trump, Putin Discuss Ukraine, Agree to Pursue Negotiations Following Prisoner Swap

Following a successful prisoner exchange, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call on Wednesday, during which they discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and agreed to initiate negotiations aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution, The Associated Press reports.

Trump, in a social media post, emphasized the importance of ending the conflict and the potential benefits of future cooperation between the two nations.

“We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Trump said, adding that their immediate priority was to “stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”

According to Trump, both leaders “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” and that he would inform Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky about their conversation. White House officials have not yet clarified whether Ukraine would be directly involved in the initial US-Russia negotiations.

The call followed a prisoner swap in which Russia released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who had been detained for over three years on drug charges. In exchange, Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian national arrested in Greece in 2017 at the request of the US on cryptocurrency fraud charges and extradited to the United States, was released to Russia. Vinnik had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was awaiting transport back to Russia.

Trump welcomed Fogel back to the US at the White House on Tuesday evening, after Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for Trump, accompanied Fogel on his return from Russia.

Fogel, who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, was released in what the White House described as a possible thaw in diplomatic relations that could potentially facilitate negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump expressed optimism that Fogel’s release could contribute to a future peace agreement on Ukraine.

“We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war,” he said.

The Kremlin also acknowledged the prisoner exchange and cautiously suggested that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust between the two nations.