Trump says he’ll speak to Putin, invites Zelenskyy back to the White House
Wednesday, 12 March 2025
US President Donald Trump will invite Ukrainian leader President Volodymyr Zelenskyy back to the White House after Ukraine agreed to a proposed ceasefire with Russia.
The 30-day ceasefire plan has been drawn up by US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Trump said he expects to talk to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and said he hopes the proposal can be solidified “over the next few days”. He hopes that Russia also agrees to the terms.
Earlier, the Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signalled that it is open to a ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials says following talks in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said: “Ukraine. Ceasefire. Just agreed to a little white ago… Ukraine has agreed to it, and hopefully Russia will agree to it.”
Asked whether Zelenskyy was invited back to the White House, Trump said: “Sure, absolutely”.
“I think it’s a big difference between the last visit you saw in the Oval Office, and this.”
Trump said he hopes the proposal can be solidified “over the next few days”, adding:
“I know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and some great conversations hopefully will ensue,” the Guardian reported.
Trump said he will speak to Putin about the ceasefire proposal. “It takes two to tango, as they say”.
“We want to get that war over with.”
He added: “If we can get Russia to do it, that’ll be great. If we can’t, we just keep going on and people are going to get killed, lots of people.”
The Trump administration's decision marked a sharp shift from only a week ago, when it imposed the measures to push Zelenskyy to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces.
The suspension of US assistance came days after Zelenskyy and Trump argued about the war in a tense White House meeting.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the American delegation to the talks in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, said Washington would present the ceasefire offer to the Kremlin, which has thus far opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict without accepting any concessions.
“We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no,' Rubio told reporters after the meeting. “If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”
Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, added: 'The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.”
Tuesday's discussions, which lasted for nearly eight hours, appeared to put rest, for the moment at least, the animosity between Trump and Zelenskyy that erupted during the Oval Office meeting last month.
Waltz said the negotiators “got into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end”, including long-term security guarantees. And, he said, Trump agreed to immediately lift the pause in the supply of billions of of dollars of US military aid and intelligence sharing.
Senior officials began meeting only hours after Russia shot down over 300 Ukrainian drones. It was Ukraine’s biggest attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbour. Neither US nor Ukrainian officials offered any comment on the barrage.
Trump 's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel later this week to Moscow, where he could meet with Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. The person cautioned that scheduling could change.
Meanwhile, in an address posted shortly after Tuesday's talks ended, Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine’s commitment to achieving a lasting peace, emphasising that the country has sought an end to the war since its outset.
“Our position is absolutely clear: Ukraine has strived for peace from the very first second of this war, and we want to do everything possible to achieve it as soon as possible — securely and in a way that ensures war does not return,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak told reporters ahead of the talks that the most important thing was “how to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”. He said security guarantees were important to prevent Russia from invading again in the future.
– Stuff with agencies