Russia, Ukraine to immediately start ceasefire talks: Trump after call with Putin

India Today

20-05-2025

US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday for two hours and announced that Russia and Ukraine would begin immediate negotiations toward a ceasefire. However, the Kremlin said that any agreement would take time, and Trump signalled he was not prepared to join Europe in imposing new sanctions to pressure Moscow.Trump said he had a "little conversation with a nice gentleman named Vladimir Putin". He claimed that progress was being made, stating that around 5,000 young soldiers are being killed every week on average, possibly more, along with civilians in towns.advertisement"We're trying to stop it. It's an absolute bloodbath," he said, adding that he had seen satellite images that were "so bad, so horrible".
Trump added, "We're doing the best we can. This was not our war. This was not me. We're doing something from the last administration. How did they allow that to happen? It wouldn't have happened."On Truth Social he wrote, "Just completed my two-hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War."Trump added that Russia was interested in engaging in large-scale trade with the United States once the ongoing "catastrophic bloodbath" comes to an end. He wrote there was a tremendous opportunity for Russia to generate significant jobs and wealth, calling the country's potential "unlimited". He added that Ukraine, too, could greatly benefit through trade during its reconstruction process.advertisementWriting further about the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said he had conveyed this development to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 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 during a group call held right after his conversation with President Putin.He also mentioned that the Vatican, represented by the Pope, had expressed strong interest in hosting the negotiations.WHAT PUTIN SAIDAfter his conversation with Trump, Putin said that efforts to end the war were "generally on the right track" and added that Moscow was willing to work with Ukraine on a possible peace agreement."We have agreed with the President of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord," he told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi, as per Reuters."The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Putin said. "We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace," he added.WHAT ZELENSKYY SAIDAfter his conversation with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv and its partners were considering a high-level meeting involving Ukraine, Russia, the United States, EU countries, and Britain as part of efforts to end the war.He expressed hope that the meeting could take place soon, possibly hosted by Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland. However, it remained unclear whether this would be part of the negotiations that Trump said would begin immediately.Must Watch