Ahead of Ukraine peace call, White House says Trump ‘open’ to meeting with Putin

LONDON — At around ten in the morning, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to speak. m. After last week’s peace negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey, the White House is still pushing for an end to Moscow’s three-year-old invasion of Ukraine, ET on Monday.

On Saturday, Trump posted on his conservative social media platform, “The subjects of the call will be, stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.”.

“I will then be speaking to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and then, with President Zelenskyy, various members of NATO,” Trump continued.

During the briefing on Monday morning, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters that the public can anticipate hearing from either the White House or President Trump after the calls.

When asked if Trump would set a new deadline for peace talks during his meeting with Putin, ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott said she wouldn’t get ahead of Trump on any particular timeline.

“He’s grown tired and frustrated with both sides of the conflict, and his goal is to see a ceasefire and to see this conflict come to an end,” she stated.

Leavitt added, “Let’s see how this call goes today,” but she thought Trump “would certainly be open” to meeting with Putin. “.

The call will take place at 5 p.m., Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday. m. Moscow time is ten a.m. m. ET—Tass, the state-run news agency, said.

According to Tass, Peskov stated, “The conversation is important given the talks that took place in Istanbul.”. He declared, “We have already stated all we could regarding the discussions, including the key points of contention.”. “We’ll wait and deliver the most effective message based on the conversation’s outcome. “,”.

Resuming direct communication with Putin—the two presidents’ last known direct phone conversation was in February—comes after Trump’s hopes for peace talks to advance in Istanbul were dashed when Putin refused to go to Zelenskyy’s invitation.

For the first time since the Turkish city hosted the last round of fruitless peace talks to stop Russia’s encroaching invasion in the spring of 2022, representatives of Kyiv and Moscow met in Istanbul.

According to Trump, “Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together, okay?” when it became apparent that Putin would not be attending the peace effort.

According to Trump, “and obviously he wasn’t going to go.”. “He believed I was going to go, but he was going to go anyway. Without my presence, he wouldn’t have gone. Because too many people are dying, I don’t think anything will happen until he and I meet, whether you like it or not. However, we must find a solution. “.

Despite Trump’s repeated threats of more sanctions against Russia, Moscow’s war objectives have not changed significantly. According to officials’ public statements, these objectives still include Ukraine giving up four regions that Russian forces do not fully control, along with Crimea, and permanently blocking Kyiv’s accession to NATO.

Any agreement for peace with Ukraine, Putin stated on Sunday, should “guarantee Russia’s security” and “eliminate the causes that triggered this crisis.”. “.”.

In order for peace talks to take place, Kyiv and its European allies are still demanding a complete 30-day ceasefire. Moscow has so far rejected the plan, claiming that any ceasefire would require the cessation of all Western military assistance to Ukraine.

The interactions between U. A. Russian and Ukrainian officials persisted following the conclusion of the Istanbul negotiations. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday.

Rubio underlined Trump’s demand for an immediate ceasefire and praised a prisoner exchange agreement reached during the Istanbul meeting, according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

In response to Pope Leo XIV’s invitation to hold a bilateral meeting, Vice President JD Vance also met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday.

“Reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy wrote on X following the meeting. “.”.

“The need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, the battlefield situation, and the upcoming prisoners exchange are other topics we have discussed,” Zelenskyy added. “Until Russia is willing to end the war, pressure must be applied against them. “,”.

According to a Monday post on X by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Istanbul meeting revealed a “stark difference” between Kyiv and Moscow. “Ukraine is looking ahead and is committed to a complete and immediate ceasefire in order to initiate the genuine peace process. “.

“On the contrary, Russia is totally preoccupied with the past, rejecting the ceasefire and instead talking about the 2022 Istanbul meetings all the time, trying to make the same ridiculous demands as three years ago,” the foreign minister stated.

Adding, “This is yet another reason why pressure on Russia must be increased,” Sybiha said. “Moscow needs to realize now what happens if it obstructs the peace process. “.

Both sides continued their long-range attacks in the meantime. According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 112 drones into the nation on Sunday night and Monday morning, with 76 of them being shot down or jammed. In a post on Telegram, the air force stated that damage had been reported in five Ukrainian regions.

Russian forces shot down 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, the country’s defense ministry reported Monday morning.