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Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed that “the time has come for our countries to work together” during their phone call, the Kremlin has said.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president invited Trump to visit Moscow and expressed readiness to receive American officials in Russia.

“The topic of Ukraine settlement was also discussed. President Trump spoke in favour of the rapid cessation of hostilities and the solution of problems through peaceful means. 

“President Putin, for his part, mentioned the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement can be achieved through peaceful negotiations. 

“The Russian President also supported one of the main theses of the head of the American state that the time has come for our countries to work together.”

Analysis: Trump’s bombshell phone call leaves questions unanswered

“This is a bombshell,” says international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn.

He says there have been NATO efforts all day to stop the damage to unity done by defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who said it’s unrealistic that Ukraine will get all of its land back in a peace deal or join NATO.

“That impression of unity is crumbling,” says Waghorn.

Trump’s call with Putin “is a break from three years of firm determination by NATO members to be united behind the principle of not talking about Ukraine without Ukraine”.

The president’s announcement that Russian and US teams will start negotiations does not make clear whether they are bilateral talks or involve Kyiv.

“Donald Trump seems to have made commitments in that phone call with Putin that the Russians expect him to hold himself to – what are those commitments?”

Trump says he will visit Russia and host Putin as war negotiations to start ‘immediately’

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have just got off the phone after a call lasting one and a half hours.

“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations,” Trump posted on social media.

The pair agreed to have “our respective teams start negotiations immediately” on ending the war in Ukraine.

“We will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” Trump said.

Leading the negotiations will be secretary of state Marco Rubio, director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, national security advisor Michael Waltz, and ambassador Steve Witkoff, he said.

Trump described the phone conversation as “highly productive” and the leaders “agreed we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine”.

“I want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call, and for the release, yesterday, of Marc Fogel, a wonderful man that I personally greeted last night at the White House,” said Trump.

Fogel, a Pennsylvania school teacher, was released from a Russian prison yesterday as part of a deal with the US.