Topline
President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine will engage in direct talks to “immediately” begin negotiations for a ceasefire agreement following Trump’s two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, though neither Putin nor Trump indicated any real progress was made toward an end or pause to the violence.
President Donald Trump raises his fist after arriving on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White … More
Key Facts
An agreement “will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said the “tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent,” and included discussion about a trade relationship with Russia after the war.
Putin, describing the call as “quite frank,” told reporters “we just need to identify the most effective ways of moving toward peace,” repeating his frequent talking point that any agreement needs to “remove the root causes of this crisis,” referring to the long and wide-ranging list of Russian demands that have been a nonstarter for Ukraine.
Trump struck a positive tone in describing the call, despite ditching his friendly rhetoric and threatening sanctions against Putin in recent months as he’s grown tired of Russia’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire.
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.”
Trump is expected to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the call with Putin.
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
Trump suggested the Vatican as a potential host for negotiations, saying it “has stated that it would be very interested” in doing so.
Key Background
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 on 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 on 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)
