Trump says Russia, Ukraine to start ceasefire negotiations after Putin call

May 19, 2025 - 15:00
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Trump says Russia, Ukraine to start ceasefire negotiations after Putin call

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a 2-hour call on Monday in what the U.S. said was a push to get Russia to end its deadly war in Ukraine. 

Both Trump and Putin described the call in a positive light, with the Kremlin chief saying it was "frank" and "useful," but it is not immediately clear what results were achieved. 

Trump took to social media to praise the call as having gone "very well" and said, "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War."

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"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," he added. 

Putin, in a statement after the call, also noted that "a ceasefire with Ukraine is possible" but noted "Russia and Ukraine must find compromises that suit both sides."

Any concrete details on the nature of these compromises remain unclear, despite negotiation attempts in Turkey on Friday, which Trump suggested failed because he needed to negotiate with Putin first.

The ceasefire talks fell through after a Ukrainian delegation said it was presented with demands from the Russian delegation that were "unacceptable," including reported calls for the complete removal of Ukrainian troops from four Ukrainian regions that Russian illegally annexed in 2022, including Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.

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The Russian delegation also allegedly demanded that the international community not only recognize the regions as now Russian, but cease aid to Ukraine, including plans to supply peace-keeping troops once the fighting concludes.

Trump said he immediately alerted not only Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the call, but also EU leader, 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 – none of whom immediately responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment, nor have they pubically made statements about the call. 

Trump also said that "the Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations." 

"Let the process begin," he added, though negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by the U.S., began months ago in March. 

The Vatican also did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's questions.

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