Trump: Russia, Ukraine to 'immediately' start talks on ceasefire

Russia and Ukraine "will immediately start negotiations" toward a ceasefire and an end to their three-year conflict, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday after he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he relayed the plan for talks to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as the leaders of the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Finland in a group call following his session with Putin.

After speaking to Trump, Putin said efforts to end the conflict 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," Putin told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

European leaders and Ukraine have demanded Russia agree to a ceasefire immediately, and Trump has focused on getting Putin to commit to a 30-day truce.

Putin has resisted that, insisting that conditions be met first. Remarks from the Kremlin leader and Trump indicated a ceasefire will be discussed alongside a broader peace accord.

High-level meeting

After speaking with Trump, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is open to signing a bilateral memorandum with Russia that would include a ceasefire agreement.

At the same time, he emphasized that during any potential talks with Russia, Kiev would not accept conditions requiring the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from territories under Ukrainian control.

Zelenskyy also noted that Kyiv and its partners might seek a high-level meeting among Ukraine, Russia, the United States, European Union countries and Britain as part of a push to end the war.

He said he hoped this could happen soon and be hosted by Türkiye, the Vatican or Switzerland. It was not immediately clear if this would be part of the negotiations Trump said would start immediately.

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." The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the conversation with Trump was "good" and it was "important that the U.S. stays engaged."

Ukraine and its supporters have accused Russia of failing to negotiate in good faith, doing the minimum needed to keep Trump from applying new pressure on its economy in the form of additional sanctions.

European leaders have said they want the U.S. to join them in imposing tough new sanctions on Russia for refusing a ceasefire.

Putin focuses on 'root causes'

Delegates from Russia and Ukraine met last week in Istanbul for the first time since 2022. The talks, without the presence of Putin and Zelenskyy, failed to produce a truce. Trump said there would be no movement unless he and Putin met.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin and Trump discussed what the U.S. leader called "impressive" prospects for ties between their countries and adding that Russia and the U.S. are working on a new prisoner swap.

Putin said the memorandum Russia and Ukraine would work on about a future peace accord would define "a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement."

"I would like to note that, on the whole, Russia's position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Putin said. "We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace."

Trump, who has promised to bring a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire after three years when Washington joined other Western countries in arming Ukraine, but he previously warned that the U.S. would give up as a mediator if there is no progress.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who was visiting Rome earlier, repeated a warning that Washington could walk away from the peace process without progress.

Vance said, "We're eventually going to say: 'You know what? That was worth a try, but we're not doing any more.'"

(With input from agencies)