Trump Offers Putin an Opportunity to Break out of ‘Loneliness’

US President Donald Trump said he had a “long and very productive” phone call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in which the leaders agreed to begin talks to end the war in Ukraine.

In a post on his Social Media platform, Trump said he and the Russian president had “agreed for our teams to begin talks immediately” and invited each other to visit their capitals.

Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with Trump about “lasting and reliable peace”.

The crisis erupted after Trump and his defense secretary said it was possible that Ukraine would join Nato, which would come as a major setback for Kyiv.

President Vladimir Putin has already achieved a diplomatic victory by holding this telephone conversation.

After all, three years ago he was out in the political wilderness.

Putin’s decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine had turned him into a loner.

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning Russia for its “illegal use of force against Ukraine.”

Russia was hit with thousands of international sanctions. The following year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Kremlin leader.

As for the US President – at the time Joe Biden – he left no doubt about his views on his Russian counterpart, denouncing Putin as a “murderous dictator” and a “thug”.

After Russia launched its massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there were no phone conversations between Putin and Biden.

The change of president has brought a change of style, a change of language – and a completely different American attitude towards Russia.

Trump says he wants to “work together, very closely” with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. He hopes they will be “visiting each other.”

Vladimir Putin invited Trump to Moscow.

If the visit goes ahead, it will mark a major shift in US-Russia relations.

A US president has not visited Russia in more than a decade.