Trump says he will speak to Putin and Zelensky on Monday and push for ceasefire
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Trump speaks at a press conference on the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 12. Photo: Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
President Trump said on Saturday that he is going to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Monday to try and reach an agreement on a ceasefire.
Why it matters: Trump believes his personal involvement could break the logjam in the diplomatic efforts and has even said that no breakthrough can be achieved without a meeting between him and Putin.
- Trump is pushing hard for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and has threatened that he will impose sanctions on any party that obstructs a deal.
- While Putin has been opposing an unconditional ceasefire Trump hasn't moved forward with sanctions against Russia. On Friday, he said in an interview with Fox that he will use his leverage on Putin if he thinks it is needed.
What he's saying: In an all-caps post on Truth Social, Trump wrote he will speak to Putin on Monday at 10am ET and right after, with Zelensky and other leaders.
- "THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH' THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE," he wrote.
- Trump stressed that he hopes this would lead to a ceasefire.
Driving the news: Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul on Friday to discuss a possible ceasefire in the war, the first such discussions since the early days of Moscow's invasion.
- The meeting came after months of diplomatic pressure by the Trump administration to open talks on ending the war. No ceasefire was agreed in the initial round of talks, but the sides did agree to swap 1,000 prisoners from each side.
State of play: Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
- Bruce said Rubio delivered to Lavrov a "strong message" from President Trump and emphasized the need for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the violence.
- Rubio told Lavrov that "the comprehensive peace plan proposed by the U.S. outlines the best way forward," Bruce said.
The other side: "Lavrov noted the positive role of the U.S., which contributed to Kyiv ultimately accepting President Putin's proposal to resume the Istanbul negotiations. He confirmed Moscow's readiness to continue working together with American colleagues in this context," the Russian foreign ministry said.
