Donald Trump will speak today with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the Ukraine war, the US president announced.
“THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
The announcement comes after representatives from Ukraine and Russia held face-to-face talks in Turkey on Friday. It was the first time the two countries held direct talks at any level in three years.
Trump has previously said he doesn’t think there will be a significant breakthrough on peace talks until he and Putin speak directly.
“I don’t believe anything is going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump told reporters earlier this week.
Trump said he plans to speak with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and various members of NATO after he talks with Putin.
Rescuers recover the bodies of passengers after a Russian drone struck a bus in the Sumy region.
“HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END,” Trump wrote Saturday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Saturday that preparations are underway for a phone conversation between Putin and Trump.
“The conversation is being prepared,” Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS without providing further details.
Ukraine, its allies in Europe and the US had pressured Moscow to accept a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Putin denied that request and instead called for direct talks in Turkey between the nations, which Trump firmly urged Zelensky to accept. Zelensky, however, said he would go only if Putin showed up. The Russians sent a delegation that Zelensky deemed “low level,” and Putin did not show up for talks.
Ukraine ultimately sent a delegation too, which led to the nations’ first talks since 2022, resulting in an agreement on swapping 1,000 prisoners.
Trump told reporters while traveling in the Middle East earlier this week he didn’t expect Putin to show up to the talks in Turkey if he wasn’t there.
“Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together, OK? And obviously he wasn’t going to go. He was gonna go, but he thought I was gonna go. He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there,” Trump said aboard Air Force One.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke Saturday to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressing the US’ commitment to ending the conflict, according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
“Secretary Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement reached during the May 16 Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul and delivered President Trump’s strong message: the United States is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war,” Bruce said in a statement. “The comprehensive peace plan proposed by the United States outlines the best way forward. The Secretary emphasized President Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the violence.”
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