Trump Says Negotiations to End Ukraine War Will Begin

US Prez first spoke to Putin and agreed to begin talks to end war before speaking with Zelensky for an hour

- Agencies

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON: Donald Trump discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the new US president's first big step towards diplomacy over a war he has promised to end.

In a post on his social media platform, Trump said he and Putin had "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelensky, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now."

Zelensky's office said Trump and Zelensky had spoken by phone for about an hour.

The Kremlin said Putin and Trump had agreed to meet, and Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow. Trump has long said he would quickly end the war in Ukraine, without saying how he would accomplish this.