Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin ‘immediately’ – Trump on Putin call

The US and Russian leaders have held a lengthy phone call Monday focused on the Ukraine conflict

US President Donald Trump has said the conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “went very well,” and that talks between Moscow and Kiev will begin “immediately.”

The two leaders spoke for over two hours on Monday, primarily about the Ukraine conflict. Putin also described the talk as “very useful.”

In a post on Truth Social shortly after Monday’s talks, Trump wrote that the tone and spirit of the conversation were “excellent,” adding, “If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later.”

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

Russia “wants to do large-scale TRADE” with the US, Trump has claimed, adding that the potential settlement of the conflict would help Ukraine to become “a great beneficiary” of trade as well.

“There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED,” Trump wrote.

The US president also said that “immediately after the call” with Putin, he spoke with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, 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, informing them about his conversation with his Russian counterpart.

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"Let the process begin!" Trump wrote.

Monday’s phone call, initially announced by Trump on Saturday, was described by Putin as “frank” and “quite useful.” 

According to a statement issued by the Kremlin following the call, the Russian president said that he thanked Trump for “US support in resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.”

Putin said Moscow is ready to work with Kiev on a memorandum that envisions a future peace agreement between the two countries.

“In general, Russia’s position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis,” Putin stated.