Trump says he spoke with Putin

US President Donald Trump had a telephone conversation with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, 12 February.

As reported by CNN, Trump said that during a "lengthy and highly productive phone call" with Putin, they discussed "Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects".

According to Trump, he and Putin agreed that they "want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine".

"We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now," he added on Truth Social.

Trump also announced that he had instructed US Secretary of State Mark Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to "lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful".

"I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!" the US president concluded.

Trump has repeatedly spoken about his desire to talk to Vladimir Putin as part of efforts to "resolve" the war in Ukraine.

Before that, reports indicated that the first contacts between the Russians and the Trump administration regarding Ukraine had been made.