According to Braže, while any diplomacy would have to involve Kyiv, “in order to have successful peace deal, Russia needs to be weakened on the battlefield. Russia’s politics, economics, religion, media, private sector, religion — it is all oriented towards war. Thus, Russia has to be forced to peace.”
In a readout issued Wednesday, the Kremlin said Trump and Putin had spoken for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, the American president posted on Truth Social that the two leaders have “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.”
“We will begin by calling President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” Trump added.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said earlier on Wednesday that Ukraine will not join NATO, and that Europe must be responsible for its own defense. In a fiery rebuke, Zelenskyy said later the same day that “Putin does not want to end the war,” and called on Trump to provide “real security guarantees.”
After speaking with Trump, Zelenskyy said: “No one wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the U.S., we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace. As President Trump said, let’s get it done.”
“We agreed to maintain further contact and plan upcoming meetings,” he added.
