Russia, Ukraine to ‘Immediately Start Negotiations Toward a Ceasefire,’ Trump Says After Call With Putin

President Donald Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday and said he thinks the call “went very well.” 

Following the two-hour conversation, Trump said “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war.”  

The conditions to end the war “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 in a lengthy post on Truth Social.  

The president called the “tone and spirit” of the long conversation “excellent,” adding, “If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later.”

Russia would like to “do large-scale trade with the United States” when the war is over, Trump said, noting that he agrees with such a plan.  

“There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is unlimited,” Trump said. “Likewise, Ukraine can be a great beneficiary on trade, in the process of rebuilding its country.”  

Putin told reporters his call with Trump was “frank and substantive.”

After his call with Putin, Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but did not comment on the tone or details of the second call. Multiple other leaders were on the call with Zelenskyy and Trump, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.  

“The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations,” Trump said. “Let the process begin!” 

Ahead of the phone calls, Vice President JD Vance acknowledged “there is a bit of an impasse” in negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.  

“I think the president’s going to say to President Putin, look, are you serious? Are you real about this?” Vance said. “Because the proposal from the United States has always been, look, there are a lot of economic benefits to thawing relations between Russia and the rest of the world, but you’re not going to get those benefits if you keep on killing a lot of innocent people.” 

Trump’s call with Putin comes one day after Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.  

The Monday calls follow a meeting Friday between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkey—the first direct talks between the two countries in more than three years.  

Putin proposed the direct peace talks, but chose not to attend the meeting in Istanbul. Trump encouraged Zelenskyy to meet with Putin after the Russian leader suggested the talks, and Zelenskyy flew to Turkey, but ultimately did not attend the meeting.    

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was present for the talks on Friday, but acknowledged beforehand that he did not expect a breakthrough without key leaders in the room.    

While no clear results toward peace were reached during Friday’s meeting, the two nations did agree to a large prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.   

Vladimir Medinsky, a top Kremlin aide who led the Russian delegation, said each delegation did agree for both sides to present a ceasefire plan in detail and that talks would continue. 

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