President Trump has announced that he would be holding a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, followed by a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
Trump said he would also be speaking with “various” NATO leaders. “HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!” he wrote.
The president’s post came a day after Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul, marking the first direct engagement between Russia and Ukraine in three years. The two sides agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war from each country, but did not reach a deal on a ceasefire.
Russia and Ukraine remain very far apart on their conditions for ending the war. Putin wants Ukraine to recognize four Ukrainian oblasts that Moscow annexed in 2022 as part of Russia, which would require Ukrainian forces to withdraw from territory it holds in those regions.
For his part, Zelensky continues to insist that Ukraine will not cede any territory, not even Crimea. “In all discussions – and I emphasize this – and this is my unwavering position – we do not legally recognise any of our temporarily occupied territories as Russian. This is the Ukrainian land,” he said ahead of Friday’s talks.
The last time Russia and Ukraine held direct peace talks was in March and April 2022. At the time, Russia’s main demand was for Ukrainian neutrality. Those efforts were discouraged by the US, and later that year, Russia declared its annexation of the four Ukrainian oblasts and added the recognition of that territory as Russia to its demands to end the war.
