United States President Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine “will immediately start negotiations” toward a ceasefire and ending the war following a more than two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin indicated that peace efforts appeared “on the right track” and confirmed Russia’s readiness to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord. The Russian leader thanked Trump for supporting direct talks between the warring nations and acknowledged Trump’s recognition of Russia’s desire for peace.
“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, defining a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement,” Putin told reporters near Sochi. He suggested appropriate agreements could lead to a ceasefire, adding that direct talks with Ukraine “gives reason to believe that we are generally on the right track.”
Putin emphasized that Russia’s position remains focused on eliminating what he called “the root causes of this crisis,” saying, “We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace.”
Trump described the call positively on Truth Social, noting that the Vatican “has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!”
Moscow journalist Yulia Shapovalova characterized the call as “very important” for Putin, who believes the US can resolve problems due to its influence. “Vladimir Putin believes that initially the US was standing behind Ukraine in this conflict, masterminding it,” she explained. “So, to address the so-called root causes of the conflict, it was important to speak directly with Donald Trump and with the US.”
Trump subsequently briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders. Zelenskyy has maintained that stronger sanctions should be imposed on Russia if Putin doesn’t commit to a ceasefire.
The call follows recent inconclusive direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul – the first in three years – which yielded only an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war. Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said these exchanges could happen this week.
A senior Ukrainian official familiar with the Istanbul talks revealed that Russian negotiators demanded Ukraine withdraw from all regions claimed by Moscow before agreeing to a ceasefire – a red line for Ukraine, especially since Russia doesn’t fully control those regions.
Trump, who has promised to swiftly end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two, commented while returning from the Middle East that Putin skipped the Istanbul meeting because Trump wasn’t there. “He and I will meet, and I think we’ll solve it or maybe not. At least we’ll know. And if we don’t solve it, it’ll be very interesting.”
European leaders have advocated for the U.S. to join them in imposing tough new sanctions on Russia for refusing a ceasefire. The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy spoke with Trump before his call with Putin.
According to Al Jazeera’s John Hendren in Kyiv, Ukraine has not yet responded to the announcement. “There’s probably not going to be a lot of celebrations unless the details are much more revealing than what we’ve seen so far,” he reported.
These developments come just one day after Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the war began. Ukraine’s intelligence service also claimed Moscow intended to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile, though Russia has not confirmed this.
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