WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Russia and Ukraine will 鈥渋mmediately鈥� begin ceasefire negotiations, President Donald Trump said Monday after separate calls with the leaders of both countries meant to spur progress toward ending . The conversations did not appear to yield a major breakthrough.
It was not clear when or where any talks might take place or who would participate. Trump鈥檚 announcement came days after the between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since 2022. Those negotiations on Friday in Turkey brought about a limited exchange of prisoners but no pause in the fighting.
Ahead of the calls, the White House said Trump had grown 鈥渇rustrated鈥� with both leaders over the continuing war. said Trump would press Russian President Vladimir Putin to see if he was truly interested in stopping the fighting, and if not, that the U.S. could disengage from trying to stop the conflict. Trump later told reporters that he believed Putin was serious about wanting peace.
鈥淭he 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,鈥� Trump said in a social media post.
Trump said the call with Putin was 鈥渆xcellent,鈥� adding, "If it wasn鈥檛, I would say so now, rather than later.鈥�
Trump has struggled to end a war that began with Russia鈥檚 invasion in February 2022, a setback for his promises to once he was back in the White House, if not before he took office.
鈥淗e鈥檚 grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict,鈥� White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday before the calls. 鈥淗e has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and ceasefire as soon as possible.鈥�
The Republican president is banking on the idea that his force of personality and personal history with Putin will be enough to break any impasse over a pause in the fighting. He dangled the prospect of reduced sanctions and increased trade with Russia should the war end.
After the call, Putin said Russia was ready to continue discussing an end to the fighting after a 鈥渧ery informative and very frank鈥� conversation with Trump. Putin said the warring countries should 鈥渇ind compromises that would suit all parties."
Moscow, he said, will 鈥減ropose and is ready to work with鈥� Ukraine on a 鈥渕emorandum鈥� outlining the framework for 鈥渁 possible future peace treaty.鈥�
But indicating that little had fundamentally changed about his demands, Putin said: 鈥淎t the same time, I would like to note that, in general, Russia鈥檚 position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that he reaffirmed to Trump that Ukraine is ready for a full and unconditional ceasefire. He urged the international community to maintain pressure on Moscow if it refuses to halt its invasion.
鈥淯kraine doesn鈥檛 need to be persuaded 鈥� our representatives are ready to make real decisions. What鈥檚 needed is mirrored readiness from Russia for such result-oriented negotiations.鈥� Zelenskyy said.
Trump and Putin addressed each other by first names
Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov, who previously served as Russian ambassador to the U.S., described the conversation as friendly, with Trump and Putin addressing each other by their first names.
鈥淭rump said, 鈥榁ladimir, you can pick up the phone at any time, and I will be happy to answer and speak with you,鈥欌�� he said.
Ushakov also said Trump and Putin could meet face-to-face at some point, but no timeline was set.
Putin and Trump also talked about a Russia-US prisoner exchange, which Ushakov said was 鈥渋n the works鈥� and envisioned Moscow and Washington releasing nine people each. Ushakov did not offer any other details.
Speaking before the call, Vance said Trump could walk away from trying to end the war if he feels Putin isn鈥檛 serious about negotiation.
鈥淚鈥檇 say we鈥檙e more than open to walking away,鈥� Vance told reporters before leaving Rome after meeting with Pope Leo XIV. Vance said Trump has been clear that the U.S. 鈥渋s not going to spin its wheels here. We want to see outcomes.鈥�
Zelenskyy, who spoke to Trump one-on-one before the Putin call and then jointly with European leaders after, told reporters that he emphasized to Trump that no decisions should be made about Ukraine without involving Kyiv. He also said that he discussed the potential for 鈥渟erious sanctions鈥� on Russia.
Trump said the Vatican expressed interest in hosting the negotiations, but there was no immediate confirmation that any talks had been scheduled.
Trump tries the carrot 鈥� and stick 鈥� with Putin
Trump sought to use financial incentives to broker some kind of agreement after Russia's invasion led to severe sanctions by the United States and its allies that have steadily eroded Moscow's ability to grow.
鈥淩ussia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic 鈥渂loodbath鈥� is over, and I agree,鈥� he said in a social media post. 鈥淭here is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED.鈥�
Trump's treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said Sunday on NBC's 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� that Trump had made it clear that a failure by Putin to negotiate 鈥渋n good faith鈥� could lead to additional sanctions against Russia.
Bessent suggested the sanctions that began during the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden were inadequate because they did not stop Russia's oil revenues, due to concerns that doing so would increase U.S. prices. The United States sought to cap Russia's oil revenues while preserving the country's petroleum exports to limit the damage from the inflation that the war produced.
Trump and Zelenskyy spoke with leaders from France, Italy and Finland, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who have threatened tougher sanctions on Russia in a bid to force Putin into negotiations.
No ceasefire but an exchange of prisoners
Putin recently rejected an offer by Zelenskyy to as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including Washington. Instead, Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul for talks, the first such direct negotiations since March 2022.
Those talks ended Friday after less than two hours, without a ceasefire in place. But both countries committed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, with Ukraine鈥檚 intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, saying on Ukrainian television Saturday that the exchanges could happen as early as this week.
While wrapping up his four-day trip to the Middle East, Trump that Putin had not gone to Turkey because Trump himself wasn't there.
鈥淗e and I will meet, and I think we鈥檒l solve it or maybe not,鈥� Trump told reporters after boarding Air Force One. 鈥淎t least we鈥檒l know. And if we don鈥檛 solve it, it鈥檒l be very interesting.鈥�
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Davies reported from Manchester, England. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in Washington; Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; and Hanna Arhirova and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.
Zeke Miller, Josh Boak And Katie Marie Davies, The Associated Press
