Trump: Zelensky, Like Putin, Seeks Peace

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced on Wednesday, February 13, that he had a conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, describing it as 'very good.' Trump wrote on his 'Truth Social' platform: 'He {Volodymyr Zelensky} seeks peace like Putin.' The U.S. President noted that he and his Ukrainian counterpart discussed various topics related to the war, adding that this dialogue would continue more extensively on Friday, February 15, at the Munich meeting, where JD Vance, the U.S. Vice President, and Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, will be present. He expressed hope that the outcomes of this meeting would be 'positive' and emphasized: 'The time has come to stop this ridiculous war, where massive and completely unnecessary death and destruction have occurred.' Donald Trump concluded by writing: 'God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine.' Additionally, he had reported hours earlier that he had a 'long and very constructive phone call' with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. Trump stated on his 'Truth Social' platform that he discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, and the strength of the dollar with Putin. In this call, recalling the cooperation between the United States and the former Soviet Union during World War II, he added: 'We thought about the great history of our nations and the fact that we fought successfully together in World War II, remembering that Russia lost tens of millions in that war and we also lost many.' According to Donald Trump, he and Vladimir Putin discussed the strengths of their countries and the great advantages of cooperating with each other. The U.S. President stated that now is the time to stop the slaughter of millions in the Russia-Ukraine war, adding: 'Millions have been killed in a war that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, and now it must end; no more lives should be lost.' Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and has since occupied about 20% of the country's territory. Trump stated that Putin agrees with him and, while emphasizing close cooperation, announced an imminent visit to each other's countries. He also reported that he and Putin agreed that relevant groups in both countries should 'immediately' begin negotiations. The U.S. President mentioned: 'I have asked Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State; John Ratcliffe, the CIA Director; Michael Waltz, the National Security Advisor; and Steve Witikoff, my Ambassador and Special Envoy, to lead the negotiations, which I believe will be strongly successful.' He expressed confidence that this effort would lead to a 'successful' outcome.