CNN
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President Donald Trump announced after a two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.”
“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 said on Truth Social, adding that the “tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent.”
“Russia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over, and I agree. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED,” Trump continued. He also said that Ukraine “can be a great beneficiary on Trade.”
Trump said he informed various country leaders about the contents of the call, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
“The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!” Trump added.
Monday’s call with Putin marks the third known time the two leaders have spoken by phone since Trump was inaugurated in January. And it comes as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the Russian president’s refusal to strike a peace deal with Ukraine.
Trump told reporters traveling with him to Abu Dhabi last week that he believes he alone can advance the stalling peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, suggesting the Russian president did not attend peace talks in Turkey because Trump himself was not in attendance.
Asked Wednesday if he still believed Putin was “tapping (him) along” on peace negotiations, Trump said, “I’ll let you know in a week, I’ll let you know in a few days.”
Ahead of the call, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that Trump has “grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict,” adding that his goal “is to see a ceasefire and to see this conflict come to an end.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
