 "Can Donald Trump truly end the Russia-Ukraine war?")
The Russia-Ukraine war has now stretched over 1,085 days. The war has devastated both countries’ economies, armies and populations. Estimates put the death toll in the thousands. And on January 21, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Russia-Ukraine war “a stalemate… a protracted and bloody conflict” that needed to end.
But there’s now a likely possibility that this ‘stalemate’ may come to an end after US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (February 12) that Washington and Moscow will begin negotiations “immediately” on ending the war in Ukraine after speaking with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
This is Trump’s first confirmed conversation with Putin since he resumed office — earlier there were reports that Trump as president-elect had a call with the Russian leader and discussed peace. However, Moscow denied that this call ever happened, terming it as “pure fiction” and “fake news.”
The question now is: Can Trump really pull it off? We analyse the situation.
Trump’s call with Putin
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that he held a “lengthy and highly productive” telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Describing the call, Trump wrote on Truth Social, his own social media platform, “We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the dollar, and various other subjects.”
“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now.”
Trump even told reporters in the Oval Office that he would be meeting with Putin. “The first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we get something done,” he said of a face-to-face with Putin, without providing a date. He said the two would also visit each other’s countries to meet.
“I think we’re on the way to getting peace,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think President Putin wants peace, and President Zelenskyy wants peace. I want peace. I just want to see people stop getting killed.”
Confirming the call, the Kremlin said that the two leaders spoke for nearly 90 minutes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin “mentioned the need to eliminate the root cause of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement can be achieved through peaceful negotiations. The Russian president also supported one of the main theses of the American head of state that the time has come for our countries to work together.”
The call between Trump and Putin marks the end of Western isolation for the Russian leader. The last time Putin met a United States president was at a summit in Geneva with Joe Biden in June 2021.
Trump’s call with Zelenskyy
The US president followed up his Putin call with a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader said that he had a “meaningful” call with Trump in which he had “shared details” of his talks with Putin.
I had a meaningful conversation with @POTUS. We long talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level, and Ukraine’s technological capabilities—including drones and other advanced industries. I am grateful to President Trump… pic.twitter.com/2SIOTX3jEp
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 12, 2025
Andriy Yermak, head of Kyiv’s presidential office, said in televised comments that Zelenskyy and Trump had agreed to “immediately” start work on the high-level teams from each side who will try to hash out a deal.
The teams will “begin a process of daily work” and Zelenskyy and his officials will meet US officials at the Munich Security Conference, scheduled to begin on February 14.
Hegseth sets the stage
Interestingly, Trump’s call with Putin and Zelenskyy came after his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Nato meet on Wednesday that there was no likelihood of Ukraine joining the military alliance.
Speaking at a defence summit in Brussels, Hegseth said, “The United States does not believe that Nato membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.
He added that it was “unrealistic” to expect Ukraine to return to its pre-2014 borders. “We must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”
Experts note that the US official’s remarks are the clearest indication that Trump is not as sympathetic to Kyiv as his predecessor, Joe Biden, was. Moreover, the remarks will be a body blow to Ukraine, which has been pushing for Nato membership and has rejected ceding territory as part of any peace deal.
The uncertain road ahead
But while Trump has said that negotiations “will start immediately” to end the Russia-Ukraine war, several challenges remain.
Firstly, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown little willingness to negotiate with Russia on terms that would cede territory or compromise Ukrainian sovereignty. In an interview with The Guardian on Tuesday, the Ukrainian leader suggested that Russian-held territory in Ukraine could be swapped for Ukrainian-held territory in Russia’s western Kursk region as part of a peace deal.
But Russia has called this term “impossible”. “Russia has never discussed and will not discuss the exchange of its territory. Ukrainian units will be expelled from this territory. All who are not destroyed will be expelled,” said Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Zelensky also insisted that the US, and not just European countries, would need to be part of any security package for his country. “Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees,” he said.
Another issue for Trump would be his European allies. Following Trump and Hegseth’s remarks, there was no immediate comment from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. However, the EU chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, later said on X that “in any negotiation, Europe must have a central role,” adding: “Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity are unconditional. Our priority must now be strengthening Ukraine and providing robust security guarantees.”
Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity are unconditional.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) February 12, 2025
Our priority must now be strengthening Ukraine and providing robust security guarantees.
In any negotiation, Europe must have a central role.
Our Weimar+ statement ↓ pic.twitter.com/PfdvQ4UND1
Other European nations have been vocal about rejecting Trump’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine war. German’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters, “We have always underlined that… there will be no decision made on Ukraine without Ukraine. “Peace can only be achieved together. And that means: with Ukraine, and with the Europeans.”
France was also at odds with the American position, insisting Ukraine should remain on a path to joining Nato.
Whether the course of this war changes will now be decided by the negotiations that Trump will oversee. However, we do hope that this war comes to an end — for Russia’s sake, Ukraine’s sake and for the world at large.
With inputs from agencies
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