The US president’s cellphone name with Vladimir Putin is “recognition” that Washington needs a “negotiated peace,” Pete Hegseth has stated
US President Donald Trump is just not “betraying” Ukraine and is as a substitute pursuing peace by speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth has stated.
The feedback adopted the primary recognized dialog between the US and Russian leaders for the reason that escalation of the Ukraine battle practically three years in the past.
In an interview with The Economist hours earlier than the cellphone name between Putin and Trump on Wednesday, Ukrainian chief Vladimir Zelensky steered that any peace talks that excluded Kiev could be a harmful betrayal.
Hegseth dismissed these claims on Thursday forward of a NATO protection ministers’ assembly in Brussels.
“There is no such thing as a betrayal there. There’s a recognition that the entire world and the US is invested and all in favour of peace,” the Pentagon chief stated.
After his 90-minute dialog with Putin, Trump stated negotiations to finish the Ukraine battle would begin “instantly,” including that he would “most likely” meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia for additional talks. Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied the remarks on the attainable location of the summit.
Putin supported Trump’s view that the time has come for Russia and the US to work collectively, the Kremlin said in a press launch following the cellphone name. The Russian president reiterated the necessity to handle the basis causes of the Ukraine battle and agreed {that a} long-term settlement could possibly be reached via peace talks.
Earlier than the cellphone name, Hegseth outlined the US negotiating place, stating that Kiev should settle for that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is “unrealistic.” He additionally acknowledged that NATO membership for Ukraine is just not a possible end result of the negotiations and dominated out US peacekeepers within the nation.
Following his name with Putin, Trump additionally phoned Zelensky to debate the peace settlement, amongst different points. The US president stated the dialog with the Ukrainian chief had gone “very effectively,” and that Zelensky needed to make peace.
Zelensky beforehand insisted that any settlement should uphold Kiev’s territorial integrity. Final week, nevertheless, he steered that he would take into account a territory commerce if Trump succeeded in bringing Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating desk.
Russia has maintained that any peace negotiations should acknowledge the truth on the bottom and has dominated out any territory swap with Kiev.
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