Trump says Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks will begin immediately following call with Putin

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia and Ukraine will "immediately" begin ceasefire negotiations, President Donald Trump said Monday after separate calls with the leaders of both countries meant to spur progress toward ending the three-year war.

The conversations did not appear to yield a major breakthrough.

It was not clear when or where any talks might take place or who would participate. Trump's announcement came days after the first direct engagement between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since 2022. Those negotiations on Friday in Turkey brought about a limited exchange of prisoners but no pause in the fighting.

Ahead of the calls, the White House said Trump had grown "frustrated" with both leaders over the continuing war. Vice President JD Vance said Trump would press Putin to see if he was truly interested in stopping the fighting, and if not, that the US could disengage from trying to stop the conflict. Trump later told reporters that he believed Putin was serious about wanting peace.

"The conditions for that 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 said in a social media post.

Trump said the call with Putin was "excellent," adding, "If it wasn't, I would say so now, rather than later."

Trump has struggled to end a war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022, a setback for his promises to quickly settle the conflict once he was back in the White House, if not before he took office.

"He's grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday before the calls. "He has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and ceasefire as soon as possible."

The Republican president is banking on the idea that his force of personality and personal history with Putin will be enough to break any impasse over a pause in the fighting. He dangled the prospect of reduced sanctions and increased trade with Russia should the war end.

After the call, Putin said Russia was ready to continue discussing an end to the fighting after a "very informative and very frank" conversation with Trump. Putin said the warring countries should "find compromises that would suit all parties."

Moscow, he said, will "propose and is ready to work with" Ukraine on a "memorandum" outlining the framework for "a possible future peace treaty."

But indicating that little had fundamentally changed about his demands, Putin said: "At the same time, I would like to note that, in general, Russia's position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis."

Zelenskyy said Monday that he reaffirmed to Trump that Ukraine is ready for a full and unconditional ceasefire. He urged the international community to maintain pressure on Moscow if it refuses to halt its invasion.

"Ukraine doesn't need to be persuaded — our representatives are ready to make real decisions. What's needed is mirrored readiness from Russia for such result-oriented negotiations." Zelenskyy said.

Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov, who previously served as Russian ambassador to the US described the conversation as friendly, with Trump and Putin addressing each other by their first names.

"Trump said, 'Vladimir, you can pick up the phone at any time, and I will be happy to answer and speak with you,'" he said.

Ushakov also said Trump and Putin could meet face-to-face at some point, but no timeline was set.

Putin and Trump also talked about a Russia-US prisoner exchange, which Ushakov said was "in the works" and envisioned Moscow and Washington releasing nine people each. Ushakov did not offer any other details.

Zelenskyy, who spoke to Trump one-on-one before the Putin call and then jointly with European leaders after, told reporters that he emphasised to Trump that no decisions should be made about Ukraine without involving Kyiv. He also said that he discussed the potential for "serious sanctions" on Russia.

Trump said the Vatican expressed interest in hosting the negotiations, but there was no immediate confirmation that any talks had been scheduled.

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