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Donald Trump has said he will speak to Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday to end the “bloodbath” between their two countries, after the Russian president skipped peace talks he had initiated with his Ukrainian counterpart.
Trump on Saturday said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the call with Putin would cover subjects including: “STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE.”
He will then speak to Zelenskyy as well as “VARIOUS MEMBERS OF NATO”, he added.
“HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END,” Trump said.
The statement came after Putin refused to meet Zelenskyy in Turkey this week, despite proposing the meetings himself, as the Russian leader continued to refuse to engage on terms set by others.
Putin sent a low-level delegation instead, led by his former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky.
The meeting, held on Friday, wrapped up after less than two hours without a breakthrough. The two sides agreed to swap thousands of prisoners-of-war, but made no progress on a lasting ceasefire.
On Saturday Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, and Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, spoke on a call.
Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange and reiterated the Trump administration’s message that “the United States is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war”, the state department said in a statement.
“The comprehensive peace plan proposed by the United States outlines the best way forward,” the statement said. “The Secretary emphasised President Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the violence.”
In an interview with CBS to be broadcast Sunday, Rubio said Lavrov told him on the call that the Russian side would prepare a document “outlining their requirements for a ceasefire that would then lead to broader negotiations”.
He said the Ukrainians would work on their own proposal, and if both documents are “close enough” they might provide a basis for “moving forward”.
“If at the end of this, in the next few days, we get a document produced by both sides, and it shows that both sides are . . . making concessions and being realistic and rational in their approach, then I think we can feel good about continuing to remain engaged,” he said.
Rubio added that the Vatican had made a “generous offer” to host further Russian-Ukrainian talks, “not just a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, but any meeting, including at a technical level”.
On Friday Trump told Fox News that he “always felt there can’t be a [peace talks] meeting without me because I don’t think a deal is going to get through . . . I have a very good relationship with Putin, I think we’ll make a deal”.
He once again criticised Zelenskyy, arguing he did not have “the cards”, but added that “Putin is tired of this whole thing and he’s not — he’s not looking good. And he wants to look good”.
