The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, announced on Monday that Russia and Ukraine will begin "immediately" negotiations for a ceasefire, following a nearly two-hour phone conversation with Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
The call was described as "frank and substantial" by Russian state media, while Trump stated that the tone and spirit of the dialogue were "excellent."
"I just finished my two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I think it went very well," Trump wrote on his social media account Truth Social. "Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations for a ceasefire and, even more importantly, the end of the war," he added.
According to the Republican leader, the terms of the process will be negotiated directly by both parties. “They know details of a negotiation that no one else would know,” he stated.
He also expressed that Russia is interested in expanding its trade with the United States once the conflict is over, which, in his view, could generate large-scale employment and wealth.
Trump also reported that he had a second call with the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, as well as with several European leaders, including Úrsula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz, and Alexander Stubb. All were informed about the start of the negotiation process.
"The Vatican, represented by the Pope, has expressed great interest in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!" Trump concluded in his post.
For now, neither the Kremlin nor the Ukrainian government have officially confirmed the start of negotiations, although the Russian state media TASS reported that Putin laid out his position on the ceasefire during the call.
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