Trump touts bilateral Ukraine-Russia peace talks after calls with Putin, Zelenskyy

President Donald Trump announced Monday that Russia and Ukraine would immediately commence ceasefire negotiations following separate calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The U.S. president’s proclamation is likely intended to be a warning to both sides not to squander the chance for peace.

Vice President JD Vance previously warned the U.S. was more inclined to walk away from the negotiations than try to broker a peace agreement due to difficulties with both Russia and Ukraine, reported PBS.

However, Trump described Monday’s phone calls as “excellent,” posting on social media that the conditions for ending the war would continue to be negotiated directly between the two warring parties, reported the Associated Press.

“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” wrote Trump. “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.” 

Putin confirmed the call with Trump was “frank” and “very useful,” expressing Moscow’s readiness to collaborate with Kyiv on a memorandum for a potential future peace treaty, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. 

Putin emphasized that the “root causes” of the dispute between Russia and Ukraine have to be a part of any negotiations, said the BBC. 

The Kyiv Independent reported there is no agreement on a ceasefire date.  

Zelenskyy has said that U.S. participation in the talks will be key to getting an agreement done, which is at odds with Trump’s emphasis. 

Trump said that he consulted with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. 

Notably Trump didn’t mention British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with whom the U.S. president has had a prickly relationship. 

As a carrot to both Russia and Ukraine, Trump held out hope of large trade agreements for the warring parties if they make peace. 

“Russia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over, and I agree,” Trump wrote on social media. “There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED. Likewise, Ukraine can be a great beneficiary on Trade, in the process of rebuilding its Country.” 

An optimistic Trump said the Vatican might agree to host the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.  

“The Vatican, as represented by the pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!” Trump concluded.