Trump says Russia-Ukraine talks to start 'immediately'

Washington DC [US], May 20: US President Donald Trump has said negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are to take place "immediately," following his telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
"Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the call, which lasted over two hours.
"The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of," he added.
Trump said he had informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the leaders of the European Commission, France, Italy, Germany and Finland of the outcome of his call with Putin.
He added that the Vatican had offered to host the negotiations, ending his post: "Let the process begin!" Trump did not provide any further details, such as who exactly would participate.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations met last week in Istanbul for the first time since 2022. The two sides agreed to a large prisoner exchange but did not achieve any major breakthrough on the war. However, neither Putin, nor Trump nor Zelensky attended those talks.
Trump said Monday's call went "very well," emphasizing that "the tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent."
Speaking to state media in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin also said the conversation had been substantive and useful.
"First of all, I thanked the President of the United States for the US support for the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine on a possible peace agreement," he said.
He said that Russia is prepared to work on a memorandum with Ukraine that would include a ceasefire.
Putin emphasized that Russia wants to end the fighting but that the most effective path to peace must be found, and that both sides must make compromises, without specifying what these should be.
Trump noted that Russia aims to trade with the United States on a large scale after the end of the war. "There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth," he wrote."
Trump added that Ukraine too "can be a great beneficiary on Trade, in the process of rebuilding its Country." Trump had previously spoken to Putin twice on the phone since taking office in January - once in mid-February and again in mid-March.
His contact with the Russian president follows a long period of radio silence between Washington and Moscow under former US president Joe Biden.
Shortly before the phone call, US Vice President JD Vance made it clear that the US was slowly running out of patience.
"We realize there's a bit of an impasse here," he told reporters aboard Air Force Two after a visit to Rome.
Ahead of the call, fighting continued in Ukraine, with Russia declaring that it had made further territorial gains.
The Defence Ministry in Moscow said that the military took the settlements of Marine in the Sumy region near the border with Russia and Novoolenivka in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukrainian military observers did not confirm the Russian advance at Marine, but partially confirmed it at Novoolenivka.
Source: Qatar Tribune