Trump says Putin and Zelenskiy want peace; phone calls kick off talks to end Ukraine war


FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) -Donald Trump said both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him on Wednesday, and Trump ordered top U.S. officials to begin talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

The conversations came after Trump's defense secretary earlier said Kyiv would have to give up its long-held goals of joining the NATO military alliance and regaining all of its territory seized by Russia, signaling a dramatic shift in Washington's approach to the conflict.

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