President Donald Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday morning, marking the first known conversation between the presidents since Trump took office last month. It came the day after Russia released the United States, who was imprisoned in this country.
Trump administration officials said they hope the exchange will encourage new efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine.
In reading the conversation posted on Truth Social, Trump said:
Trump had been showing his desire for several weeks to talk to Putin, who works to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.
“We agreed to work very closely, including visiting each other’s countries, and each team agreed to start negotiations soon. We called Ukrainian President Zelenkisee. And start by letting him know the conversation.
“Single can change courses in history,” Kiril Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and ally of President Putin, told CNN’s Matthew Chance.
“Today, the leaders of the US and Russia may have opened the door to a future shaped by cooperation rather than conflict,” Dmitriev said.
Dmitriev met with a special envoy on the ground to Middle East Steve Witkov in an effort to return Mark Vogel, a US teacher detained from Russia.
Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, had not spoken to his Russian counterpart for nearly three years.
The call lasted nearly 90 minutes on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the two leaders discussed the exchange between Russia and American citizens “in other topics.” He called the conversation “very positive and constructive.”
CNN’s Fred Pleitgen, Anna Chernova, Christian Edwards, Matthew Chance and Michael Rios contributed to this post.
This post was updated with additional reports about the call and comments from the Kremlin.
