Putin tells Trump 'peace negotiations' on Ukraine possible in first call

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump in a lengthy phone call Wednesday that "peace negotiations" on ending the Ukraine conflict were possible, the Kremlin said.

The conversation marks the first confirmation by Moscow of contact between the two leaders since Trump came to office last month, and comes as the Republican pushes for an end to the nearly three years of fighting.

"President Putin... agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peace negotiations," Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his readout of the call, which he said lasted almost one-and-a-half hours.

"President Trump spoke in favour of stopping hostilities as soon as possible and solving the problem by peaceful means."

Putin stressed any settlement would need to "address the root causes of the conflict," Peskov said, without elaborating.

The Kremlin leader also invited Trump to visit Moscow.

In addition to Ukraine, the two leaders discussed the exchange of prisoners, Iran's nuclear programme and the situation in the Middle East, he added.

Trump called his conversation with Putin "lengthy and highly productive" in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, saying they had agreed to "immediately" start negotiations.