Brave face

US President Donald Trump upended three years of Washington’s policy toward Ukraine on Wednesday, saying that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a sudden prisoner swap.

Trump said he spent more than an hour on the phone with Putin and “I think we’re on the way to getting peace.” He noted that he later spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but he was noncommittal about whether Ukraine would be an equal participant in US negotiations with Russia.

“I think President Putin wants peace and President Zelenskyy wants peace and I want peace,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I just want to see people stop being killed.”

Of his conversation with Putin, Trump said, “People didn’t really know what President Putin’s thoughts were. But I think I can say with great confidence, he wants to see it ended also, so that’s good — and we’re going to work toward getting it ended and as fast as possi

Trump noted that he would “probably” meet Putin in person in the near term, suggesting that this could happen in Saudi Arabia.

Brave face despite disappointment

Trump speaking to Putin sent a potentially dramatic signal that Washington and Moscow could work to hammer out a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by going around that country’s government. Doing so would break with the Biden administration, which steadfastly insisted Kyiv would fully participate in any decisions made.

Asked specifically about Ukraine being an equal member of the peace process, Trump responded, “Interesting question. I think they have to make peace.

In another blow to Ukraine’s Western-leaning aspirations, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said at NATO headquarters in Brussels that NATO membership was unrealistic for Ukraine.

“I don’t think it’s practical to have it, personally,” Trump said later about NATO membership for Ukraine. He added that Hegseth had said “it’s unlikely or impractical. I think probably that’s true.”

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Biden administration joined other NATO members in vowing that membership in the Western military alliance was “inevitable

Trump said Wednesday of Russia: “I think long before President Putin, they said there’s no way they’d allow that

”They’ve been saying that for a long time that Ukraine cannot go into NATO,” Trump said. “And I’m OK with that

Despite all that, Zelenskyy sought to put a brave face on what many in Ukraine will see as a major disappointment. In a social media post, he said he had “a meaningful conversation” with Trump that included a discussion of “opportunities to achieve peace” and Kyiv’s “readiness to work together at the team level.”

“I am grateful to President Trump,” he said.