Trump, Putin Speak as Ukraine, Europe Push for Immediate Ceasefire
A rare and highly anticipated conversation between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at ending the war in Ukraine yielded no major breakthrough on Monday, even as both leaders emphasized their personal relationship.
Trump said the only way to resolve the conflict was through direct talks between himself and Putin. He praised the “tone and spirit” of Monday’s phone call and held out the possibility of “large-scale TRADE” with Moscow after the fighting. But he appeared to accept Putin’s request to delay the ceasefire until after negotiations, and there was little indication that Russia had backed down from demands that Ukraine considered unacceptable, including that Kyiv cede more territory as part of a settlement.
Ukraine and Russia will resume direct talks that began last week, Trump said. But after a spate of Russian drone strikes on Ukraine over the weekend, a breakthrough appears unlikely, despite what Trump said was an offer from Pope Leo XIV to host additional talks at the Vatican. Putin praised Trump after the call, which lasted more than two hours, saying in a televised statement that the call was “meaningful and quite frank, and overall I found it very useful.” The Russian leader said he thanked Trump for his support for resuming direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
But he offered only qualified support for a ceasefire and a possible peace deal. He said that “the main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this conflict,” language that suggested he remained steadfast in his efforts to force Kyiv into a more pro-Russian position. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at Trump’s urging, has expressed his willingness to immediately implement a 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has given no indication he is ready to do so.
Both sides took pains to praise the outpouring of goodwill that extended Trump’s track record of conciliation toward Putin, who invaded Ukraine in 2002 with the aim of conquering it. “The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent,” Trump wrote in Truth Social. “Russia wants to do large-scale TRADE with the United States after this terrible bloodshed is over, and I agree.”
He said neither side wanted to end the talks when it came time to hang up the phone. But there was no indication that Putin had budged on some of the key demands that have hampered progress toward any deal. Vice President J.D. Vance said Russia had asked for “too much,” including a push for Kyiv to cede more territory in eastern Ukraine. He has expressed frustration about the pace of the talks. “We’re more than open to doing it,” Vance told reporters aboard Air Force Two on Monday, ahead of the Trump-Putin call. “We want to see results.” Trump has focused on trade as he seeks to resolve the crisis, as he has done in other parts of the world, including during his first major international trip of his presidency last week.
“There’s tremendous opportunity for Russia to create jobs and wealth. The potential is UNLIMITED,” he said. He said that after the call, he had briefed Zelensky along with the leaders of the European Commission, Germany, France, Italy and Finland. The call lasted about an hour, officials said.
Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that in a brief, separate call with Trump before the Putin conversation, he had urged the U.S. leader “not to make decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
He said Russia needed to show that it was “really ready to stop,” which he said meant first a ceasefire, then a prisoner exchange and the release of Ukrainian children who had been taken to Russian territory during the conflict.
And he showed no willingness to give in to Putin’s demands that Kyiv withdraw from its own territory as part of a peace deal.
Asked whether he thought Trump would agree to Russia’s demands, Zelensky said that “with the utmost respect for Trump, this is not about Trump. We will not withdraw our troops from our territory. That is my constitutional obligation.” European leaders have said they are prepared to impose sanctions on Russia to increase pressure on Putin to reach a deal.
Source: Bloomberg
