Trump announces "immediate" Ukraine-Russia talks after talking to Putin

Following his call with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin on 19 May, US President Donald Trump has announced that Ukraine and Russia will immediately start talks on a ceasefire.

Trump said his call with the Kremlin leader on Monday went very well and that the tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent.

"Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. The conditions for that 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 announced on Truth Social.

Trump also pointed out that Russia wants to trade with the United States, and he agreed with that, because "there is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth" and "its potential is UNLIMITED".

Trump also said he had briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 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 on the conversation.

"Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately... The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!" Trump concluded.

The US president’s post made no mention of the administration's demand for an unconditional ceasefire, which Putin has openly rejected, or of potential sanctions pressure if Moscow refuses to make concessions.

Earlier, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing sources, that Trump spoke for several minutes with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the call with the Kremlin leader.