U.S. President Donald Trump has revealed that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have expressed a willingness to negotiate an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Trump, who has long positioned himself as a dealmaker, stated that he has ordered top U.S. officials to begin talks on securing a peace agreement.

The announcement comes after separate phone calls Trump held with the two leaders on Wednesday. Trump disclosed that he spoke with Putin for over an hour, during which the Russian leader conveyed his interest in achieving a ceasefire in the near future. “He wants it to end. He doesnt want to end it and then go back to fighting six months later,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office. While no date was confirmed for an in-person meeting, Trump suggested that discussions with Putin might take place in Saudi Arabia.

Following the conversation with Putin, Trump engaged in an hour-long discussion with Zelenskyy. According to the Ukrainian President, the talks were “meaningful” and covered a range of issues, including potential paths to peace and Ukraines technological advancements, particularly in drone warfare. “We talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together, and Ukraines technological capabilities,” Zelenskyy stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Following his talk with Zelenskyy, Trump assigned Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, he informed on his social media app, Truth Social. Their task will be to find a viable framework for peace that satisfies both Kyiv and Moscow while maintaining regional stability.

I just spoke to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to make PEACE. We discussed a variety of topics having to do with the War, but mostly, the meeting that is being set up on Friday in Munich, where Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the Delegation. I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive. It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The discussions mark a significant shift in the U.S. approach to the conflict. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended Trumps move, emphasizing that attempts to negotiate peace should not be seen as a betrayal of Ukrainian soldiers. Instead, he urged NATO allies to ramp up their defense spending, suggesting that the European bloc must play a larger role in ensuring regional security.

Trumps initiative also aligns with earlier remarks from the U.S. defense leadership, which indicated that Kyiv might need to reassess its long-standing goals. This includes reconsidering its ambitions of reclaiming all territories occupied by Russia and its pursuit of NATO membership, a stance that could have significant implications for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity.