Topline
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak Monday morning as Trump has become increasingly frustrated with Putin’s resistance to ending, or at least, pausing the war with Ukraine.
President Donald Trump raises his fist after arriving on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White … More
Key Facts
Trump and Putin are set to speak at 10 a.m. ET.
Trump will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the call with Putin.
The calls come as Trump has shown signs he’s growing tired of Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire, ditching his friendly rhetoric and repeatedly threatening to impose new sanctions on Russia.
Following a meeting with Zelenskyy at the Vatican last month, Trump said Russia’s continued attacks led him to believe “that maybe [Putin] doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently.”
Crucial Quote
“The subjects of the call will be, stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social. Trump also said last week he wanted to meet Putin in person “as soon as we can set it up”
What To Watch For
The White House, or possibly Trump himself, will give details on the call later Monday.
Key Background
Trump is set to speak with Putin after Russia and Ukraine held direct talks in Istanbul last week. Zelenskyy sat out the talks when Putin declined to attend. Trump claimed Putin didn’t go because he skipped the meeting. Zelenskyy met with Vice President JD Vance Saturday at the Vatican, where Zelenskyy said he reiterated the need for a ceasefire, sanctions against Russia and continued coordination between Russia and the U.S. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed for a ceasefire in a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Saturday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
Further Reading
Trump Says He Wants To Meet Putin ‘Soon’ After Both Skip Ukraine Peace Talks In Turkey (Forbes)
Trump Says He Will Speak To Putin Monday—After Russian President Skipped Peace Talks (Forbes)
