US President Donald Trump has said his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin went “very well” and Russia and Ukraine should “immediately” begin talks on a ceasefire and ending the war.
“Just finished a two-hour conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and – more importantly – an end to the war. The terms for this will be discussed between the two sides as soon as possible, because they know details of the negotiations that no one else will know. The tone and spirit of the conversation was remarkable,” he wrote on the social network Truthsocial.
The President of the United States added that he reported the results of the talks between Vladimir Zelensky and leaders of the coalition of the willing.
“I informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 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 telephone conversation with me, immediately after the conversation with President Putin. The Vatican, represented by the Pope, said it would be very interested in holding talks. Let the process begin,” he noted.
Putin told reporters after his phone conversation with Trump on 19 May that Russia and Ukraine “must find compromises that suit both sides.” He said “Russia is ready to work with Kiev on a memorandum on a future peace treaty.”
According to media reports, US President Donald Trump had a brief chat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before his conversation with Putin. It was expected that Trump would have another conversation with Zelensky after his dialogue with Putin. The Ukrainian side has not yet provided details of this conversation.