Trump says Russia-Ukraine direct talks to ‘begin immediately’

President Trump on Monday said that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire, following phone calls with the leaders of each country. He also noted the Vatican has offered to host the talks.

The White House said Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about two hours, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day. 

Trump has been pushing for a 30-day ceasefire in the war, and the White House said before Monday’s calls that he was frustrated with both sides.

The president called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine before entering office, and more than two months of direct diplomacy has failed to get Putin to agree to even basic terms. 

The announcement of direct negotiations comes after Putin last week skipped appearing at direct talks in Istanbul that he proposed. 

While Zelensky traveled to Turkey in a bid to entice Putin, the Russian leader sent a low-level delegation to meet with the Ukrainian team. Agreement on a ceasefire was not reached, but the two sides agreed on a swap of 1,000 prisoners and committed to keep talking. 

On Monday, Trump described the tone and spirit of his conversation with Putin as “excellent.”  

“If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later,” he wrote in a post on his social media site, Truth Social.

“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 added. 

Trump said he agreed with Putin that “largescale TRADE” can happen between Russia and the U.S. “when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over.”

It’s not clear if Trump is quoting himself or Putin describing the war in Ukraine as a bloodbath, which Russia initiated with a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. 

“There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED,” Trump wrote in his post. 

Trump also said Ukraine can be a great “beneficiary on Trade, in the process of rebuilding its Country.” 

Trump said he spoke with the leaders of the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Finland immediately after his call with Putin and said the Vatican “would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!”

Putin, in remarks reported by Russian state media, said Russia was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a future peace treaty. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov downplayed expectations of quick agreement, saying ending the Ukraine war would require “rather painstaking and, perhaps, prolonged work,” Russian state media reported. 

Zelensky, speaking at a press conference Monday evening, rejected Putin’s demands to withdraw Ukrainian troops from four partially occupied regions. Russian negotiators reportedly raised those conditions during the talks in Istanbul. 

“It’s our land, we won’t withdraw our troops from our territory… it means that they don’t want peace… if they demand what they know we won’t agree to,” Zelensky said, the Kyiv Independent reported. 

Zelensky spoke twice with Trump on Monday, in a short call before Trump spoke with Putin, and for an hour afterward and was joined by European leaders. 

In a post on X, Zelensky said he is open to Turkey, the Vatican and Switzerland as possible venues for direct negotiations. But he warned of Putin using the talks to continue the war without repercussions and called for increasing sanctions to put pressure on Moscow to halt its attacks. 

“If Russia refuses to stop the killings, refuses to release prisoners of war and hostages, if Putin puts forward unrealistic demands, this will mean that Russia continues to drag out the war, and deserves that Europe, America, and the world act accordingly, including with further sanctions,” Zelensky wrote. 

“Russia must end the war it started, and it can begin doing so any day. Ukraine has always been ready for peace.”

Some Ukrainian lawmakers quickly issued rejections of Putin’s commitment to talks. 

Kira Rudik, head of the Ukrainian opposition party Holos, said Putin’s statements “mean nothing.” 

“We see absolutely no signs of peace, either on the ground or in the skies. The only thing I would trust is: he is ready to continue the war,” she wrote in a post on X.

The Vatican has served as an important backdrop over the last few weeks of repaired ties between the U.S. and Ukraine that fractured at the end of February, during an explosive Oval Office meeting where Zelensky was chastised as being insufficiently grateful to U.S. support.

On the sidelines of Pope Frances’ funeral late last month, Trump and Zelensky huddled privately. The moment was captured in an extraordinary image showing the two men sitting in simple chairs face to face. 

Shortly after that meeting, Trump criticized Putin as not being interested in stopping the war.

On Sunday, the Vatican again proved an important location for closer U.S. and Ukrainian coordination.

Zelensky met in Rome with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, on the sidelines of the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.

Vance’s account on X posted a photo of the Ukrainian leader and Vice President smiling, sitting around a glass table on a shaded patio with a manicured garden in the background.

“Our countries share the goal of ending unnecessary bloodshed in Ukraine, and we discussed updates on the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace,” Vance wrote on X.

“Thank you to all American people for the support and leadership in saving lives,” Zelensky wrote in his post on X, and posting a similar photo.

Still, Ukraine’s supporters are likely to be disappointed with Trump’s laudatory remarks of Putin and potential business deals. Bipartisan lawmakers in Congress have legislation imposing greater sanctions on Russia ready with a veto-proof majority, but have shown little signs that it will be brought to the floor for a vote, in deference to the White House. 

Republicans, while extremely hesitant to break with Trump, are speaking out that Putin cannot be trusted and is not a partner for peace and that only pressure will get him to halt the war in Ukraine. 

“Putin has disrespected the US and the goodwill of our President,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) wrote last week, following Putin’s no-show in Istanbul.

On Monday, he re-posted Trump’s social media post describing the call with Putin. 

This story was updated at 3:40 p.m. EDT.