WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said after a two-hour call with Vladimir Putin that peace talks would begin “immediately” after his Russian counterpart refused to attend negotiations May 15 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I believe it went very well,” Trump said on social media about the call May 19. “Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately.”
Trump said Pope Leo XIV offered to host the talks at the Vatican.
“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump said. “Let the process begin!”
Putin thanks Trump for encouraging peace talks
Putin thanked Trump for supporting the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Putin said that Trump noted Russia’s support for peace, though the key question was how to move towards peace.
“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, defining a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement,” Putin told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Trump nudges Putin, Zelenskyy toward talks
Trump has pressured both sides to accept a ceasefire and peace deal to end a war that began in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Zelenskyy backs a 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has said he first wants talks to review details of a possible truce.
“I said, ‘When are we going to end this, Vladimir?'” Trump told reporters on May 19, recounting what he said to the Russian president. “I’ve known him for a long time now. I said, ‘When are we going to end this bloodshed, this bloodbath? It’s a bloodbath. And I do believe he wants to end it.”
Trump said he welcomes the idea of the new pope hosting negotiations to bring an end to the war.
“I think it would be maybe helpful,” Trump said. “There’s tremendous bitterness, anger, and I think maybe that could help with some of that anger. So having it in the Vatican would be ‒ in Rome ‒ would be a great, I think it’d be great idea.”
Ukraine and Russia held negotiations in Turkey that wrapped up on May 16. It was the first time the two sides engaged in talks since the early weeks of the war. They agreed to a prisoner swap and continued discussions.
Putin sent a second-tier team of negotiators to the peace talks, spurning Zelenskyy’s challenge to meet in person. Trump told reporters last week he doesn’t expect progress until “Putin and I get together.”
After leaning heavily on Ukraine and joining Vice President JD Vance in clashing with Zelenskyy in a February Oval Office meeting, Trump has shown increasing impatience with Putin in recent weeks and threatened additional sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, both Trump and Vance have met directly with Zelenskyy during trips to Rome over the last month.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on May 19 that Trump has “grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict.” U.S. officials have suggested they could walk away from negotiations if there isn’t progress.
Former Vice President Mike Pence told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired May 18 that Putin only understands strength, and it’s time for Trump to get tough with Russia.
“President Zelenskyy has agreed to a ceasefire… and Vladimir Putin calls a meeting that he doesn’t show up for,” Pence said. “So I honestly think the time has come for President Trump to impose harsh sanctions on Russia and also to increase military support for Ukraine.”
Contributing: Reuters
This story was updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says Russia, Ukraine peace talks to begin ‘immediately’
