Trump says he will talk to Putin on the phone on Monday

Cnn
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President Donald Trump will talk to the Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war on Monday, said the US President.

“The topics of the call will be to stop the” bloodbath “that kills on average, on average more than 5000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers per week and trade,” Trump wrote on Saturday about the social of truth.

The announcement is made after representatives of Ukraine and Russia had personal discussions in Turkey on Friday. It was the first time that the two countries had had direct conversations at any level for three years.

Trump previously said that he didn't think there will be a significant breakthrough in the peace talks until he and Putin speak directly.

“I don't think something will happen, whether you like it or not until he and I come together,” Trump told reporters in the early this week.

Trump says he is planning to speak to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and various members of NATO after talking to Putin.

“Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should never have happened will end,” wrote Trump on Saturday.

The Ukraine, its allies in Europe and the United States had put Moscow under pressure to accept a 30-day armistice between Russia and Ukraine. Putin denied this request and last Thursday in Turkey demanded direct lectures between the nations, which Trump firmly asked to accept Zelensky. However, Zelensky said he would only go if Putin appeared. The Russians sent a delegation that Zelensky kept as a “low level”, and Putin did not appear for talks.

Ukraine finally sent a delegation that led to the first talks of the nations since 2022, which led to an agreement on the exchange of 1,000 prisoners.

Trump said reporters when he was in the Middle East at the beginning of this week, did not expect Putin to appear in Turkey's talks when Trump was not there.

“Look, nothing will happen until Putin and I come together, ok? And obviously he wouldn't go. He would go, but he thought I would go. He didn't go if I wasn't there,” said Trump on board Air Force One.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio also spoke to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who emphasized the commitment of the United States for the end of the conflict, said the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Tammy Bruce.

“Secretary Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement, which was met during the Ukraine-Russian talks in Istanbul on May 16, and President Trump's strong message: The United States is obliged to reach the Russia Ukraine War a permanent end,” said Bruce in a statement. “The comprehensive peace plan proposed by the United States describes the best way forward. The secretary emphasized President Trump's demand for immediate ceasefire and an end to violence.”

In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump said that he was “tired” from other people who negotiate about the war and emphasized how he and Putin had to meet.

“He is at the table and wanted this meeting. And I always had the feeling that there could be no meeting without me because I don't think a deal will come through,” said Trump. “We have to come together and I think we'll probably plan it because I was fed up with meeting other people and everything else.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.