By Kavita Mistry 
Moscow is ready to work toward ending the fighting in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday (May 19, 2025) following a two-hour phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Mr. Putin said that Russia and Ukraine would need to find compromises to suit all parties.
Russia and Ukraine will “immediately” begin ceasefire negotiations, said Mr. Trump after separate calls with the leaders of both countries meant to spur progress toward ending the three-year war. The conversations did not appear to yield a major breakthrough.
Russia ready to work toward ending fighting in Ukraine: Putin
Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks will begin immediately: Trump
It was not clear when or where any talks might take place or who would participate. Mr. Trump’s announcement came days after the first direct engagement between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since 2022. Those negotiations on Friday in Turkey brought about a limited exchange of prisoners but no pause in the fighting.
Ahead of the calls, the White House said Trump had grown “frustrated” with both leaders over the continuing war. Vice President J.D. Vance said Mr. Trump would press Russian President Vladimir Putin to see if he was truly interested in stopping the fighting, and if not, that the U.S. could disengage from trying to stop the conflict. Mr. Trump later told reporters that he believed Mr. Putin was serious about wanting peace.
“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,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post.
Mr. Trump said the call with Putin was “excellent,” adding, “If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later.” Later, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he noted the process has “got very big egos involved, I tell you.”
“Big egos involved. But I think something’s going to happen and, if it doesn’t I’d just back away and they have to keep going,” he said. “This was a European situation. It should have remained a European situation.”
Mr. Trump also said he told the Russian President, “We’ve got to get going.”
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The U.S. President has struggled to end a war that began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022, a setback for his promises to quickly settle the conflict once he was back in the White House, if not before he took office.
The Republican President is banking on the idea that his force of personality and personal history with Mr. Putin will be enough to break any impasse over a pause in the fighting. He dangled the prospect of reduced sanctions and increased trade with Russia should the war end.
After the call, Mr. Putin said Russia was ready to continue discussing an end to the fighting after a “very informative and very frank” conversation with Mr. Trump. Mr. Putin said the warring countries should “find compromises that would suit all parties.”
Moscow, he said, will “propose and is ready to work with” Ukraine on a “memorandum” outlining the framework for “a possible future peace treaty.”
But indicating that little had fundamentally changed about his demands, Mr. Putin said: “At the same time, I would like to note that, in general, Russia’s position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that he reaffirmed to Mr. Trump that Ukraine is ready for a full and unconditional ceasefire. He urged the international community to maintain pressure on Moscow if it refuses to halt its invasion. “Ukraine doesn’t need to be persuaded — our representatives are ready to make real decisions. What’s needed is mirrored readiness from Russia for such result-oriented negotiations.” Mr. Zelensky said.
Published – May 20, 2025 05:30 pm IST