President Trump said the tone and spirit of his two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about the war in Ukraine were “excellent,” and Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire.”
Mr. Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president said in a social media post, and Zelenskyy was also on the phone for the call with NATO leaders following Mr. Trump’s call with Putin, although the White House has not yet released details of that conversation.
The president also indicated Pope Leo XIV has expressed interest in hosting the negotiations, and told reporters Monday afternoon that he thinks “some progress has been made.” Asked if he thinks Putin wants peace, Mr. Trump said, “I do,” and asked if he trusts Putin, Mr. Trump responded, “I do.”
But Putin has given little indication publicly that he’s eager for a ceasefire or an end to the war he began. Mr. Trump warned the U.S. could still back out of attempts to negotiate an end to the war.
“Very big egos involved, I tell you,” Mr. Trump told reporters Monday afternoon. “Big egos involved. But I think something’s gonna happen. And if it doesn’t, I just back away and they’re gonna have to keep going. Again, this was a European situation.”
“I did say, ‘It’s time, you gotta stop this thing.’ And I believe he wants to stop,” Mr. Trump told reporters, adding that he would be able to tell if Putin wanted to stop.
At an event Monday evening, Mr. Trump said, “we had a good talk, and I think that progress is being made.”
Mr. Trump also said in a statement that Russia “wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over, and “there is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth.”
Asked ahead of the call about the possibility of imposing secondary sanctions on Russia, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said everything is on the table, although the president didn’t mention sanctions in his statement.
Zelenskyy issued a lengthy statement on social media after his call with Mr. Trump and NATO leaders, saying that if Russia isn’t “ready to stop the killings, there must be stronger sanctions.” He also urged the U.S. not to walk away from Ukraine and the talks.
“It is crucial for all of us that the United States does not distance itself from the talks and the pursuit of peace, because the only one who benefits from that is Putin,” Zelenskyy wrote, adding that “Ukraine has always been ready for peace.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined Mr. Trump’s call with Putin, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. Rubio said in an interview that aired Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that a breakthrough might only be possible if Mr. Trump and Putin had “a direct conversation.
Mr. Trump and Putin last spoke in March.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump said he and Putin would discuss the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. In Rome, Vice President JD Vance met Sunday with Zelenskyy in their first face-to-face conversation since their explosive February Oval Office meeting.
Vance told reporters Monday that he had spoken to Mr. Trump ahead of the call and said he thought the president would tell Putin there would be “‘economic benefits to thawing relations between Russia and the rest of the world, but you’re not going to get those benefits.'”
Vance said the president would press Putin on the deaths of innocent people caused by Russians and tell him, “‘So, if you’re willing to stop the killing, the United States is willing to be a partner for peace.'”
On Friday, Russia and Ukraine held lower-level delegation talks in Istanbul that were attended by White House envoy Steve Wikoff. The talks in Istanbul broke up after less than two hours, although both sides did agree to each exchange 1,000 prisoners of war, according to official delegations.
contributed to this report.
