Trump bullish, Putin cagey: The high-stakes phone call on ending Ukraine ‘bloodbath’

London: US President Donald Trump has declared that Russia and Ukraine will “immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire” following a lengthy phone conversation with Vladimir Putin, a claim that drew cautious international reactions and left key questions unanswered.

Trump’s announcement, delivered via a post on his Truth Social platform, came after a two-hour call with the Russian president that he described as having gone “very well”. He added: “The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent.”

According to Trump, the Vatican had expressed interest in hosting the proposed talks. “Let the process begin!” he wrote.

The war sparked by Putin’s invasion, now in its third year, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions of people. Previous rounds of peace talks have collapsed amid continued fighting and mutual mistrust.

While the US president projected optimism after the call on Monday, Washington time, little evidence from Moscow indicated Russia’s position on the war had shifted.

Putin, speaking to Russian state media, confirmed the conversation and said Moscow was prepared to work with Kyiv on a memorandum laying the groundwork for peace, including a possible ceasefire “for a certain amount of time”, but stopped short of making firm commitments.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a two-hour phone call.Credit: Getty Images

“We agreed with the US president that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum about the possible future peace agreement,” he said.

Putin called the exchange “very candid and therefore very useful”, but reiterated longstanding Kremlin rhetoric, asserting that Russia’s objective remains “to eliminate the root causes of this crisis”.

Putin’s vague commitment comes just one week after he refused to attend peace talks in Turkey, where Ukrainian and Russian delegates met for the first time since 2022. The Kremlin’s no-show drew criticism from Western officials who accused Moscow of continuing its military campaign while stalling diplomacy.

In Washington, Trump framed the call’s outcome as a breakthrough, even as he deferred responsibility for the next steps to the two warring nations.

“The conditions for [a ceasefire and end to the war] 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,” he wrote.

Trump said he also briefed several European leaders after the call, including 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.

Von der Leyen praised Trump for what she calls “his tireless efforts” to bring about a ceasefire, while Merz said all participants in the call “reaffirmed their willingness to closely support Ukraine on its path toward a ceasefire”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky implored the US leader to “not distance” himself from efforts to secure peace, adding that Putin was “the only one who benefits from that”.

He told reporters in Kyiv he’d called on Trump – ahead of his conversation with Putin – to not make decisions about Ukraine without consulting Kyiv first.

“These are matters of principle for us and very important,” he said.

Zelensky also revealed that Ukraine, alongside its European partners, was working to arrange talks involving Russia, the US, the European Union and the UK, with potential hosts including the Vatican, Switzerland or Turkey. He expressed hope that these discussions could take place as soon as possible.

Trump noted that Pope Leo XIV had expressed an interest in hosting the talks after US Vice President J.D. Vance met with the newly installed pontiff and invited him to the White House.

He also presented the prospect of peace as an economic opportunity.

“There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth,” Trump wrote. “Likewise, Ukraine can be a great beneficiary on trade, in the process of rebuilding its country.”

He added: “Russia wants to do large-scale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over, and I agree. Its potential is UNLIMITED.”

However, the gap between Trump’s upbeat framing and Putin’s guarded language has raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles. European leaders remain wary that any Trump-led peace initiative might bypass established frameworks and lead to a settlement that concedes too much to Russia.

Despite Trump’s portrayal of progress, few concrete outcomes were confirmed. The Kremlin has not committed to a timeline, nor a permanent cessation of hostilities. Analysts point to Putin’s continued use of terms like “root causes” – a reference often interpreted as code for demands including Ukrainian neutrality, NATO rollback and recognition of Russian territorial claims.

“I believe that when Vladimir Putin continues to uphold his hypocritical language, everyone has understood that he will carry on with his colonial war to the end if we do not put a stop to it,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said.

Diplomatic efforts to end the war have intensified in recent weeks, with renewed talks in Istanbul marking the first face-to-face engagement between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in over two years. However, major obstacles remain, including fundamental disagreements over sovereignty, territory, and security guarantees.

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