U.S. President Donald Trump said he will speak with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to discuss stopping the war in Ukraine, days after the first direct talks between the two warring countries since early 2022.
Trump, who was touring the Middle East last week, had offered to travel to Istanbul for the talks on Friday if Putin would also attend, but the Russian leader ultimately declined to take him up on the offer.
In a Truth Social message published on Saturday, Trump said his call with Putin will take place on Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.
“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,” he said.
Trump said he would speak with Zelensky and “various members” of NATO afterwards.
“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,” he wrote.
Russian negotiators at the Istanbul peace talks on Friday demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies, confirmed on Saturday that preparations were underway for a conversation between the Russian and U.S. presidents.
“A conversation is being prepared,” Peskov told the agencies after Trump’s Truth Social post.
