UPD: 'I just finished my two-hour conversation with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire and, more importantly, for ending the war. The terms for this will be discussed between the two parties, as it should be, because they know the details of the negotiations that no one else knows.
The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it were not so, I would say so now, not later.
Russia wants to engage in large-scale trade with the United States once this catastrophic 'bloodbath' ends, and I agree with that. Russia has enormous opportunities to create a huge number of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED.
Similarly, Ukraine can become a major beneficiary of trade in the process of rebuilding its country. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately.
I informed the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, and the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, during a conversation with me immediately after the conversation with President Putin.
The Vatican, represented by the Pope, stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!' — Trump wrote on his social network.
Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, also voiced his version of the conversation. According to him, there was no talk of a ceasefire timeline. They discussed the situation in Ukraine, as well as the preparation for another prisoner exchange on a nine-for-nine basis. Trump stated that he sees Russia as one of the most important partners of the United States after the end of the war with Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin came out to journalists and shared about the two-hour conversation with the President of the United States, Donald Trump. The only specifics turned out to be the duration of this conversation, which Putin called 'very substantive and quite frank'.
'The President of the United States expressed his position on the cessation of hostilities, a truce, and I, for my part, noted that Russia also advocates for a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis. We just need to determine the most effective paths to peace.
We agreed that Russia is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum of a possible future peace treaty, defining positions such as principles of settlement, timelines for concluding a peace agreement, including a possible ceasefire for a certain period if appropriate agreements are reached.
The question is for the Russian and Ukrainian sides to show maximum desire for peace and find compromises that would satisfy everyone. In general, Russia's position is clear, the main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis,' Putin told journalists.
Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly called for an end to the 'bloodbath' in Ukraine. Under Trump's pressure, delegates from the warring countries met last week in Istanbul for the first time since 2022, after Putin proposed direct negotiations, and Europeans and Ukraine demanded an immediate ceasefire. However, Russia again put forward unrealistic demands: recognition of Crimea as 'Russian', withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from partially occupied four regions of Ukraine, refusal of reparations, and 'neutral status' for Ukraine.
Shortly before the conversation between Trump and Putin, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance told journalists that Washington recognizes that a stalemate has developed in the issue of ending the war, and that if Moscow does not want to engage in negotiations, ultimately the United States will have to say that this is not their war. He quoted Donald Trump, who said that 'it takes two to tango'. 'I think, frankly, President Putin doesn't quite understand how to get out of the war,' Vance added.
Photo: AP