Following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations for a ceasefire. However, the Kremlin tempered expectations, indicating that such a process would take time, while Trump emphasized that he is not ready to follow Europe in imposing new sanctions on Moscow.
In a social media post, Trump wrote: “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.” He later added from the White House: “I think some progress has been made.”
Trump informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and EU leaders—including those of France, Italy, Germany, and Finland—about his call with Putin during a group conference call.
Putin, for his part, thanked Trump for his support of the renewed dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv, referencing the recent meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul—the first direct talks since March 2022. Still, Putin remained cautious, saying the efforts are “generally on the right path.”
Speaking from Sochi, the Russian president noted: “Together with the U.S. president, we agreed that Russia will propose—and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side—on a memorandum for a possible future peace agreement.”
Despite signs that direct contacts between the two sides may continue, Monday’s calls produced no significant breakthrough.
European leaders responded by vowing to increase pressure on Russia through further sanctions. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed in a late-night post on X that after being briefed by Trump, the EU would escalate punitive measures against Moscow.
Trump, however, showed reluctance to follow suit. When asked why he had not imposed new sanctions on Russia to force it into a peace agreement—as he had previously threatened—Trump replied that if they did that, they “might make things much worse.”
A source familiar with the call between Trump, Zelensky, and the European leaders said participants were “shocked” by Trump’s failure to pressure Putin with sanctions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen kept her response diplomatic, writing on X that the conversation with Trump was “good” and emphasizing that “it is important that the U.S. remains committed” to ending the war in Ukraine.
Source: ANA-MPA, Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
