11 hours ago
Last Updated:May 20, 2025, 08:18 IST
Donald Trump spoke to Putin on Monday and said, "We just spent two and a half hours talking to Vladimir Putin. I think some progress has been made."
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE)
US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday for over two and a half hours and said that he thinks that “some progress has been made". Trump also informed that he spoke to the heads of most of the European nations, and is trying his best to get the Russia-Ukraine war ceasefire talks wrapped up at the earliest.
Addressing the media, Trump said, “…My little conversation with a nice gentleman named Vladimir Putin. We had a good talk, and I think that progress is being made."
“5,000 young soldiers are being killed every single week on average. And it’s a number probably worse than that, in addition to other people who are being killed in towns. And we’re trying to stop it. It’s an absolute bloodbath," the US President added.
Trump further stated that he saw the satellite pictures of the war and the aftereffects are bad and horrible. Further accusing Biden’s administration, Trump stated, “We’re doing the best we can. This was not our war. This was not me. We’re doing something from the last administration. How did they allow that to happen? It wouldn’t have happened."
However, without any major progress toward an immediate ceasefire, Trump sought to emphasise what he described as an excellent “tone and spirit" shared with the Kremlin leader. Putin, meanwhile, described the call as “meaningful and frank".
Moscow Ready To End Fight: Putin
Moscow is ready to work toward ending the fighting in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday following a two-hour phone call with US President Donald Trump.
Putin said that Russia and Ukraine would need to find compromises to suit all parties.
Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Ready For Ceasefire
Zelenskyy spoke to Trump twice on Monday, once shortly before the US leader spoke with Putin, and once after. In the phone call after Trump spoke with Putin, European leaders discussed the need for more sanctions on Moscow. Zelensky said the US still needs to be “pressured" to agree to implement further sanctions.
“If the Russians are not ready to stop the killings, there must be stronger sanctions. Pressure on Russia will push it toward real peace – this is obvious to everyone around the world," said Zelenskyy in an X post after his call with Trump.
He also reiterated that Ukraine is ready for direct negotiations with Russia in any format that brings results.
Russia, Ukraine To Immediately Start Ceasefire Talks: Trump
Following the call, Trump also mentioned that his call with the Russian President went very well and that Moscow and Kyiv would immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and end to the war.
Under pressure from Trump, delegates from both Russia and Ukriane met last week in Istanbul for the first time since 2022, however, no output was received as the officials failed to agree to a truce. While Kyiv showed its willingness to ceasefire, Moscow said that conditions must be met first.
“Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately," Trump said in a Truth Social post following his call with Putin, which lasted two hours.
Trump also held a joint call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders of the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Finland following his call with Putin. Trump informed those leaders that negotiations would start immediately.
Location :United States of America (USA)
First Published:News world In Conversation With Trump, Here's What Putin And Zelenskyy Said Amid Ceasefire Hopes
