Ceasefire possible after «agreements»: Putin on conversation with Trump
- Darina Melnychuk
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20:28, 19 May, 2025
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Finland, 16 July 2018, photo: AP/ ablo Martinez MonsivaisThe telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as part of the White House's efforts to reach a truce in Russia's war against Ukraine, lasted more than two hours.
This was reported by «RIA Novosti».
According to Vladimir Putin, Russia is ready to work on a peaceful settlement of the conflict, including a memorandum with Ukraine that provides for a possible ceasefire for a certain period. He also noted that contacts between the negotiating groups that had previously met in Istanbul had been resumed.
The Russian president called his conversation with Donald Trump «meaningful, frank and useful», thanking the American leader for the US initiative to resume dialogue between the parties. He said that the two sides should find a compromise that would suit all parties involved, and that for Russia, the main thing is to eliminate the causes of the so-called «crisis».
Vladimir Putin confirmed that he had heard Donald Trump's clear position on the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine. At the same time, he stressed that a ceasefire is possible only after the relevant agreements are reached.
Trump announced the planned phone calls after Russian and Ukrainian representatives met in Istanbul for face-to-face talks. This was the first meeting between the two sides since the first weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey
On 11 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his desire to resume direct talks with Ukraine, which were suspended at the end of 2022. He also said that he planned to address Turkish President Recep Erdogan with a proposal to organise the talks.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for direct talks, calling it a «good sign». However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that a ceasefire was needed first to really start a dialogue with Russia. He later stressed that he was looking forward to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey.
In addition, Turkish President Recep Erdogan accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to hold talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on 15 May.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that he had no information on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend the talks. At the same time, he did not rule out the possibility of his own participation in the event.
Late in the evening of 14 May, the Kremlin approved the official list of Russian representatives to participate in peace talks with Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the delegates.
On the day of the talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian delegation had arrived in Ankara in full force and was ready for real solutions to achieve a just peace. The composition of the Russian delegation is still unknown and, according to the head of state, resembles «a prop level».
After the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the negotiation process with Russia, saying that Ukraine was ready to take all steps to end the war and urged Vladimir Putin to give the Russian delegation decision-making powers.
Later, it became known that Ukraine and Russia discussed a ceasefire and the exchange of prisoners of war in the format of «thousand for thousand» during the talks in Istanbul.
However, the Ukrainian and Russian sides agreed to meet again during the talks in Istanbul on 16 May.