U.S. President Says Russia & Ukraine to Start 'Immediate' Talks on Ceasefire

BBC

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday, 19 May 2025, that Russia and Ukraine "will immediately start negotiations" toward a ceasefire and an end to their three-year-old war, speaking after he held a call with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

"Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately," President Trump said in a Truth Social post following his call with Putin, which lasted two hours.

After the call, President Putin said efforts to end the war were "generally on the right track" and that Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a potential peace deal.

"We have agreed with the president of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord," President Putin told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the statement that talks would begin immediately. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke "for a few minutes" with President Trump before the U.S. leader's call with Putin, a source familiar with the matter said, according to Reuters.

In his social media post, President Trump said the Vatican, "as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!"

Delegates from Russia and Ukraine gathered in Istanbul last week for the first time since 2022, but did not reach an agreement on a truce. Kyiv says it is ready for a ceasefire right now, but Moscow insists on certain conditions first.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance earlier repeated a warning that Washington could walk away from the peace process.

President Putin said the memorandum would define "a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement."

He said that if appropriate agreements were reached, there could be a ceasefire, adding that direct talks between Russia and Ukraine gave "reason to believe that we are generally on the right track."

"The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," he added. "We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace.

He thanked President Trump for supporting the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv and said President Trump noted Russia's support for peace, though the key question was how to move towards peace.

Shortly before the call, U.S. Vice President Vance told reporters that Washington recognised there was "a bit of an impasse here".

"And I think the president's going to say to President Putin: 'Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?'" Vance said as he prepared to depart from Italy.

"I think honestly that President Putin, he doesn't quite know how to get out of the war," Vance said. 

He said it "takes two to tango. I know the President's willing to do that, but if Russia is not willing to do that, then we're eventually just going to say, this is not our war. We're going to try to end it, but if we can't end it, we're eventually going to say: 'You know what? That was worth a try, but we're not doing any more.'"

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the U.S. President wanted to see a ceasefire, but that he had grown "weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict".

Asked if a package of secondary sanctions against Russia remains on the table, she said: "I think everything's on the table."



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