by WorldTribune Staff, May 19, 2025 Real World News

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said Russia and Ukraine have agreed to commence talks on a ceasefire “immediately.”

President Donald Trump said he and Russia leader Vladimir Putin spoke by phone for more than 2 hours on Monday.

After a more than two-hour phone call with Russia leader Vladimir Putin, Trump said he expects Russia and Ukraine to start direct negotiations.

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

Trump said the talks would begin “immediately” and that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as several NATO leaders, after the call with Putin.

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

“The president has made it clear his goal is to see a ceasefire and to see this conflict come to an end. And he’s grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Putin echoed that message following the call, saying Russia is ready to work towards peace with Ukraine.

Speaking to journalists in Sochi, Putin claimed that he is willing to work on a “memorandum on a possible future peace agreement” with Ukraine, but did not elaborate on what that would look like.

“The question is, of course, that the Russian and Ukrainian sides show their maximum desire for peace and find the compromises that would suit all parties,” Putin added.

Trump on Monday suggested that trade with the U.S. could be a motivator for both countries in peace talks.

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  Trump: Russia and Ukraine ‘will immediately start’ ceasefire talks, WorldTribune.com