President Donald Trump has said he had a "lengthy and highly productive" phone call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in which the leaders agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he and the Russian president had "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately" and invited each other to visit their respective capitals.
Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had also spoken with Trump about a "lasting, reliable peace".
The calls with both warring sides came as both Trump and his defence secretary said it was unlikely Ukraine would join Nato, which will come as a bitter disappointment to Kyiv. Trump also told reporters at the White House that it was unlikely Ukraine would return to its pre-2014 borders, implying that Russia would retain control of Ukrainian territory.
Trump did not set a date for a face-to-face meeting with Putin but later told reporters at the White House: "We’ll meet in Saudi Arabia."
Jane Hill presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Steve Rosenberg, Sarah Smith and James Waterhouse.
Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog
For more news, analysis and features visit: www.bbc.com/news
#BBCNews
Add comment