President Donald Trump said he is looking to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.
President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he will soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia, or another location, on a date yet to be determined.
The two leaders talked on the phone earlier in the day and agreed to have a series of negotiations “not in the too distant future,” aimed at bringing the war between Russia and Ukraine to a close, according to Trump.
“We ultimately expect to meet,” the president said in the Oval Office of the White House after signing executive orders. “In fact, we expect that he‘ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably … the first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia.”
The president described the call with Putin as “highly productive” and said the talk ranged from current geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East to energy production, artificial intelligence, and other issues.
“We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong campaign motto of ‘common sense.’”
The two presidents discussed the nations’ past as allies during World War II and “agreed to work together,” according to Trump.
Following his call with the Russian leader, Trump also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday.
“The conversation went very well,” the president wrote in a separate Truth Social post. “He, like President Putin, wants to make peace.”
The Munich Security Conference is set to host a joint meeting with Zelenskyy and U.S. officials—including Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff—on Feb. 14.
“I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive,” Trump wrote. “It is time to stop this ridiculous war, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, death and destruction. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine.”
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have festered since February 2014, when pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from office by pro-Ukrainian revolutionary forces.
Russia subsequently annexed the Crimea peninsula, and separatist groups favoring Russia led an independence movement that resulted in the Donbas war.
Attempts to establish a cease-fire failed repeatedly over the ensuing two years—before Russian forces invaded parts of Eastern Ukraine in February 2022.
Both sides have suffered casualties in the hundreds of thousands, or more, according to Trump.
Ukraine has requested admittance into NATO and nuclear weapons to defend itself, though it remains unclear if any demands will be met, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
She reiterated Trump’s dedication to finding solutions that put an end to the war.
“The administration is wholeheartedly committed to a peace deal,” Leavitt said during a Feb. 12 press briefing.
Trump has criticized the amount of money former President Joe Biden provided to Ukraine, suggesting any future aid will come with conditions.
American taxpayers have provided approximately $350 billion to Ukraine for defense over the past three years, the president said, while vowing to secure Ukraine’s rare earth mineral rights to collateralize the debts owed to the United States.