Putin Tells Trump 'Peaceful Negotiations' on Ukraine War Possible in Leaders' First Call

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to “work together” with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump and expressed readiness to negotiate peace in Ukraine in a phone call on Wednesday, the Kremlin confirmed.

Putin and Trump discussed the nearly three-year war in Ukraine and possible peace talks during the 1.5-hour call, the two leaders’ first publicly disclosed discussion since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Trump “spoke in favor of a swift cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the problem,” Peskov said, without providing further details.

Putin "agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peaceful negotiations," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call, which it said lasted almost one-and-a-half hours.

Putin “mentioned the need to address the root causes of the conflict,” Peskov said.

The Russian leader also invited Trump to visit Moscow, Peskov added.

Trump said he and Putin agreed to "immediately" start negotiations to end the Ukraine war during their "lengthy and highly productive" call.

“We agreed to work together, very closely,” Trump said, adding that he wanted “to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call.”

Both leaders had invited the other to each others' countries, Trump said on social media, while the U.S. leader said he would be calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "right now" to inform him about the call.

According to Trump, the leaders also discussed the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the strength of the dollar and other key topics.