US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he discussed a possible Ukraine ceasefire in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Calling it a “good talk,” Trump said that he suggested “a little bit of a ceasefire” in the Ukraine war.
Trump, speaking to reporters as he met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission in the Oval Office, said he suggested “a little bit of a ceasefire” in the war in Ukraine in his phone call with the Russian leader.
“And I think he might do that,” Trump said, then asked reporters whether Putin had announced a ceasefire. Trump also talked about his relationship with Putin, saying, “I’ve known him a long time.”
US President also discussed the Iran war with Putin and said that the Russian leader offered to help on the issue of Iran’s enriched uranium, a key obstacle to a deal to end the Iran war. On this, Trump told Putin that he would much rather have Putin “be involved with ending the war with Ukraine.”
Trump said he had a “very good conversation” with Putin, adding that it focused more on the Ukraine war than on Iran.
“We talked more about the war in Ukraine,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Kremlin says Putin to declare ceasefire
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that the call between the two leaders lasted for more than 90 minutes and was “frank and businesslike.” He said the leaders discussed the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year following Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in 2022.
Putin said he was ready “to declare a ceasefire for the duration of Victory Day celebrations. Trump actively supported this initiative, noting that the holiday marks our shared victory,” AFP quoted Ushakov as saying.
“At Trump’s request, Vladimir Putin described the current situation along the line of contact, where our troops are holding the strategic initiative and pushing back the enemy’s positions,” Ushakov told reporters.
Kremlin aide also said that both Trump and Putin expressed “essentially similar assessments” of the behaviour of Ukraine under Volodymyr Zelensky, which, according to them, is pursuing a policy of prolonging the conflict.”
Russia marks Victory Day on May 9 to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, celebrated each year with a military parade in central Moscow.
