The has just ended phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, at a time of maximum tension on the Ukrainian front. The conversation, which lasted more than two hours, proved to be – according to the Russian president – “informative and useful”. After days of intense consultations between Washington, the European capitals and Kiev – with Trump who spoke first with Zelensky and will then update the leaders of the Willing Countries – the White House is trying to break the diplomatic impasse that emerged after the failure of the peace negotiations in Istanbul and the heavy attack with Russian drones. Although according to the Kremlin leader, the fact that direct negotiations in Istanbul have resumed “gives reason to believe that, in general, we are on the right track”.
Putin to Trump: "Truce possible with appropriate agreements"
According to Putin's live broadcast from Sochi, the Tsar reported to Trump that Moscow is willing to cooperate with Kiev on a preliminary memorandum for future peace talks “with the definition of a series of positions”. For example: the principles of the solution, the terms of a possible peace agreement and, among the hypotheses, also a cease-fire temporary. However, the Russian president has specified that a truce – urged by the US president – can only be considered in the presence of “appropriate agreements”, reiterating that any ceasefire must be based on solid and shared foundations. The Kremlin leader also stated that Russia and Ukraine can “find compromises”, but that “it is necessary to eliminate the main causes of the crisis first”, a point considered essential from Moscow to truly unblock the negotiation process.
Third Trump-Putin Phone Call: What's Been Said and Done So Far
Monday's is the third phone call officially announced between Trump and Putin since the beginning of the year. The first dates back to February 12, when Trump declared that both Putin and Zelensky had expressed “a desire for peace” and ordered the start of talks between the American leaders to stop the war. The second exchange took place on March 18: a conversation lasting about two hours, among the longest ever held by Putin with a Western leader. On that occasion, the Russian president accepted a temporary truce on attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, but rejected the American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
The Kremlin later hinted that there may have been other undisclosed contacts. Before Trump, the last US leader Putin had spoken to as president was Joe Biden, in February 2022, shortly before the invasion.
For these conversations, Trump and Putin rely on encrypted lines and are assisted by translators: Putin knows a little English, but prefers to communicate in Russian. So far, they have never used videoconferences.
Zelensky: “Ceasefire now, we are ready for direct negotiations”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president relaunches the appeal to his Russian counterpart to start direct talks. On Telegram Zelensky stressed that “Ukraine insists on the need for a complete and unconditional ceasefire” that “should last a long time and include the possibility of extension. Our offer, shared with partners, is 30 days. We are ready for this.” He also added: “We are ready to meet at the leader level to resolve key issues. Ukraine is not afraid of direct negotiations with Russia, and it is crucial that the Russian leadership does not prolong the war.”
Vance's Previews
Meanwhile, from Rome, the US Vice President JD Vance He previewed the possible content of the call to reporters, suggesting that Trump might take a pragmatic approach. “Look,” he told reporters aboard Air Force Two, “there are a lot of economic benefits to restoring relations between Russia and the rest of the world, but you’re not going to get those benefits if you continue to kill a lot of innocent people.” He added: “We recognize that there’s a kind of stalemate here, and I think the president will say to President Putin listen, are you serious? Are you really going to move forward?".
Vance also stressed the difficulties where the Kremlin is: “I think President Putin doesn’t know exactly how to get out of this war,” explaining that Russia has “transformed its entire economy” for war purposes. He denounced the “fundamental mistrust between Russia and the West, which is one of the things that the president thinks is stupid and that we need to overcome. But it takes two to tango.” He reiterated: “Look, there are a lot of economic benefits from the thawing of relations between Russia and the rest of the world.”
Putin-Trump meeting: Moscow denies
On the Russian front, the Kremlin announced through its spokesperson Dmitry Peskov that a top between the two leaders "it is not in preparation at the moment”, dampening expectations after the White House said that Trump “is definitely open to a face-to-face meeting” with the Russian president. Peskov also warned that peace negotiations in Ukraine will be “thorough and, perhaps, long-term”, and stressed the need to address “a large number of nuances”, adding that Russia “is ready for this work”.
