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US hopes Trump-Putin talks to lead to lasting peace in Ukraine — top defense official

In a telephone conversation on February 12, Putin and Trump discussed, among other things, the prospects for a settlement in Ukraine

BRUSSELS, February 13. /TASS/. The US administration expects that the telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will contribute to a lasting peace in Ukraine, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a press approach ahead of the NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

"There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is interested and invested in a negotiated peace [in Ukraine]. <…> That will require both sides recognizing things they don’t want to, and that’s why I think the world is fortunate to have [US] President [Donald] Trump. Only he at this moment could convene the powers that be to bring peace, and that’s a welcome sign," he said, adding that the US leader is "the best negotiator on the planet."

In a telephone conversation on February 12, Putin and Trump discussed, among other things, the prospects for a settlement in Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, Trump expressed support for an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful settlement. Putin, for his part, mentioned the need to address the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peaceful negotiations, the Russian leader's press service said. The US leader wrote in the Truth Social network that Moscow and Washington would immediately start negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

Speaking in Brussels at the regular meeting of the Western contact group coordinating arms deliveries to Kiev, Hegseth emphasized that a return to Ukraine's 2014 borders was unrealistic. He also effectively ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and warned Europe that it should be in charge of its own security, as the Trump administration plans. Trump later referred to Hegseth's words about the unlikelihood of a return to Ukraine's 2014 borders.

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