Trump to Speak With Putin as Russia Ramps Up Strikes
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018. Credit - Brendan Smialowski—Getty Images President Donald Trump has said he will be speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, amid attempts to procure a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. "I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 a.m.," Trumpannounced on his Truth Social accounton Saturday, May 17. He said 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." Trump said after this call, he will then speak separately with Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky, as well as members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). "Hopefully it will be a productive day, a cease-fire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all," Trump concluded. Overnight on Saturday, leading into Sunday morning,Ukraine officials reported that Russia had launchedits most intense drone attack against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Zelensky is currently in Rome, where he attendedPope Leo's inauguration Massat the Vatican on Sunday. During the service, Pope Leo addressed how "Ukraine awaits negotiationsfor a just and lasting peace." The Pontiff shared a meeting with Zelensky after the Mass. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended the inauguration Mass. They met with the Ukrainian President later in the day to discuss the on-going efforts to procure a cease-fire. "During our talks we discussed negotiations in Istanbul to where the Russians sent a low level delegation of non-decision-makers. I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional cease-fire as soon as possible,"Zelensky said on social media after the meeting. "We have also touched upon the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, battlefield situation, and upcoming prisoners exchange. Pressure is needed against Russia until they are eager to stop the war. And, of course, we talked about our joint steps to achieve a just and durable peace." On Saturday, Zelensky met with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney in Rome, where the leader reiterated his support for Ukraine. "Russia must agree to a cease-fire and peace talks. Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,"Carney said via social mediaafter the meeting. Read More:Pope Leo Makes Plea for Unity and World Peace During Inauguration Mass Trump's upcoming calls with Putin and Zelensky proved to be a key topic of conversation among European leaders who attended the inauguration Mass. German Chancellor Friedrich Merztold reporters in Romethat European leaders are hoping to speak with Trump prior to his call with Putin. Per Merz, officials from Germany, France, Poland, and the United Kingdom are eager to touch base with the U.S. President. Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East who has steered U.S.-led peace talks with Putin,spoke on ABC'sThis Weekabout Monday's call, stating that it could "clear up some of the logjam and get us to the place that we need to get to." Witkoff added: "I believe that the President is going to have a successful call with Vladimir Putin. They know each other. The President is determined to get something done here... If he can't do it, then nobody can." Trump's announcement of the planned call came after officials from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday to hold direct talks about the pursuit of peace. Notably, neither Zelensky or Putin were present at the summit. After much speculation as to whether the two leaders would engage in a face-to-face meeting—something Zelensky advocated for, on the conditionthat a cease-fire would be agreed to prior—the two did not meet. Putin rejected Zelensky's offer to an in-person sit-down, and did not accompany the Russian delegation to Turkey. Meanwhile, Zelensky travelled to the Turkish capital of Ankara, where hemet with the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In a sign of progress, the meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian delegates did result in an agreement to carry out thelargest prisoner swap of the war, with each country committing to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.After the meeting, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the country's delegation,told reportersthat the two countries had also discussed the possibility of a cease-fire and a meeting between their respective Presidents. Europe and the U.S. have previously proposed a 30-day cease-fire, which Ukraine has accepted. But Putin has refused to accept the proposal unless a list of his demands are met. Read More:How Putin Missed His Shot at Peace A call between Trump and Putin has been on the cards. The U.S. Presidenttold reporters on Air Force One on Thursday: "Nothing is going to happen until Putin and I get together." On Friday, the Kremlin echoed these comments, saying that communication between Trump and Putin is "extremely important" for settling the conflict. "Contacts between President Putin and Trump are extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian settlement," Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov is quoted as tellingRussian press. "Of course, we agree with this thesis. This significance is difficult to overestimate." Though Trump had promised a new era of Russia-Ukraine relations under his second term in the White House, hisfirst 100 dayssaw things get off to a rocky start, with tensions peaking between Trump and Zelensky. The two shared aheated exchange in the Oval Officein February. The two appear to have since mended their relationship, and shared a brief, but significant, in-person sit-down—their first since the Oval Office clash—ahead of Pope Francis' funeral at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on April 26. Of the sit-down,Zelensky saidit was a "very symbolic meeting that has [the] potential to become historic." "We discussed a lot one-on-one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional cease-fire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out," he said. After the meeting,Trump called out Putinvia social media, expressing doubt that the Russian leader wants to end the war in Ukraine, and hinting at sanctions against Russia. Read More:Trump Publicly Calls Out Putin After Meeting With Zelensky at Pope Francis' Funeral Still, Trump has maintained that he can broker a peace deal between the two countries. Rubio visited Istanbul earlier this week so that U.S. officials could host their own separate talks with Ukrainian and Turkish delegates. He had a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday,per the State Department. "The comprehensive peace plan proposed by the United States outlines the best way forward," the State Department said. "The Secretary emphasized President Trump's call for an immediate cease-fire and an end to the violence." Write toOlivia-Anne Cleary atolivia-anne.cleary@time.com.
Trump to Speak With Putin as Russia Ramps Up Strikes President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Helsinki, F...
