Trump announces: ‘Start of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine for ceasefire’

Phone conversation of over two hours between the US president and Putin. Kremlin opens to a memorandum for peace, but Kiev puts the brakes on: ‘No decision without us’

Russia and Ukraine will ‘immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire and, above all, an end to the war’. This was stated by US President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social, after a long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The conversation, which lasted over two hours, was described by Moscow as ‘informative, frank and very helpful’.

Putin reiterated his readiness for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, stressing that Russia is ready to work with Kiev on a memorandum outlining principles, timelines and content for a possible peace agreement, including a ceasefire ‘for a certain period’, provided that shared compromises are found.

The Russian president also confirmed that the talks with Ukraine, which resumed last Friday in Istanbul, ‘are on track’. ‘We must eliminate the root causes of this crisis,’ Putin said, hoping for a normalisation of relations with the US as well.

Trump, for his part, reportedly briefed key Western leaders after his phone call with Putin, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The tycoon added that the Vatican was willing to host future talks.

The Italian government confirmed its involvement, specifying in a note from Palazzo Chigi that ‘they are working for an immediate start of negotiations that will lead to a ceasefire and lay the foundations for a just and lasting peace’.

From Ukraine, however, doubts are emerging. Zelensky made it known that he had spoken to Trump before the latter’s talks with Putin, thus contradicting the initial White House version. ‘I asked him not to make decisions concerning Ukraine without us,’ said the Ukrainian president, who admitted that he did not yet know the details of the memorandum proposed by Russia.

At the same time, the dialogue between Moscow and Kiev on the humanitarian front has continued: a contact between the two sides to organise an exchange of one thousand prisoners, announced in Turkey in recent days, has been confirmed.

According to the Kremlin, the phone call also broached the subject of a possible direct meeting between Trump and Putin, to be prepared ‘carefully’ but still without a date. In addition, a new prisoner exchange between the US and Russia was discussed, which could involve 18 people.

The German government confirmed that the US will maintain ‘close coordination’ with its European allies in the next steps of the negotiations. Berlin reiterated its commitment to support Kiev on the path to a ceasefire, without abandoning pressure on Moscow through new sanctions.

Finally, in the same hours as the talks between Trump and Putin, Moscow reported further military advances in the Sumy and Donetsk regions, where Russian forces took control of two settlements. Kiev partially confirmed the loss of one of the two settlements.

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