Politics | Feb 15th 2025 Edition

Donald Trump held a phone call with Vladimir Putin and said he would “immediately” start negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, announcing that he and the Russian president would hold talks that will be hosted by Saudi Arabia. Their conversation lasted 90 minutes and was the highest level of contact between the Oval Office and the Kremlin since the start of the war in 2022. Mr Trump then called Volodymyr Zelensky to inform him about the conversation. The Ukrainian president said they had talked about a “lasting, reliable peace”. In an earlier interview with The Economist Mr Zelensky had warned about the dangers of excluding Ukraine from negotiations.