US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about peace in Ukraine. Putin said after the talks that Russia was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a future peace agreement, which would include a ceasefire. Now Trump has also spoken out, saying that the tone of the talks was “excellent” and that Ukraine and Russia will immediately begin negotiations to end the war.
“I just finished a two-hour conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire, and more importantly, on ending the war. The terms for this will be negotiated between the two sides, as that is the only way it can be done – they know the details of the negotiations that no one else could. The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If they hadn’t, I would have said so now, not later. Russia wants to do extensive trade with the United States when this disastrous ‘bloodbath’ is over, and I agree with that. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create enormous jobs and wealth. Its potential is limitless. Likewise, Ukraine can be a great winner in trade, as it rebuilds its country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately.
“The Vatican, represented by the Pope, has expressed great interest in hosting the talks. Let the process begin!” Trump wrote.
Trump added that he had briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubbs about this.
According to state media, Moscow has expressed its readiness to work on a memorandum with Ukraine that would include a ceasefire. Putin reportedly said they were “generally on the right track,” but reiterated that both sides would have to agree to compromise.
“A temporary ceasefire in Ukraine is possible if appropriate agreements are reached,” Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said.
The White House said the talks began at about 10:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) in Washington on May 19, and that he would hold a separate phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the talks, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said Trump’s goal was to “see this conflict end,” because he had become “tired and frustrated with both sides.”
White House envoy Steve Witkoff, who has met with Putin three times, said the call with the Russian president would “go a long way in determining where we are and how to finalize these negotiations.”
“They know each other. The president is determined to make a deal… If he can’t do it, then nobody can,” Witkoff said in an interview with ABC News.
Trump announced the phone calls after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held a face-to-face meeting in Istanbul — the first time the two sides have met since the early weeks after Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
“The topic of the call will be stopping the ‘bloodshed,'” Trump wrote on social media. “I hope it will be a productive day, that there will be a ceasefire, and that this very violent war — a war that should never have happened — will finally end.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters that the call would take place.
“Of course, it’s an important conversation, given the negotiations that took place in Istanbul,” he said. “Let’s wait and see.”
The talks in Istanbul, which also included separate talks with U.S. officials, yielded only modest results, including an agreement to exchange up to 1,000 prisoners of war. No pledge to halt the fighting was reached, and over the weekend Russia launched what Ukraine said was one of its largest drone strikes to date.
