Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent”, but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington and European allies.
Speaking to reporters in Sochi after the two-hour conversation on Monday, Putin described the call as “very meaningful and frank” and said he was prepared to work with Ukraine on drafting a memorandum for future peace talks.
However, the Russian leader declined to support the US-proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire, which Ukraine had already agreed to – and which Washington had framed as the call’s primary objective. Putin also suggested his country’s maximalist objectives in the war with Ukraine were unchanged.
In contrast, Trump offered a far more positive spin, saying in a post on his Truth Social network that the talks went “very well”.
“The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent … Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” he wrote, suggesting that the Vatican should host future Russia-Ukraine negotiations.
Trump’s statement after the call with Putin also suggested the US would be stepping back from the negotiations. He said the conditions for a deal could only be negotiated by the “warring parties”, despite his earlier claim that he could end the war in a single day.
Trump later said it would be “great” to hold peace talks at the Vatican, but again suggested the US could abandon its involvement, telling reporters that if there is no progress: “I’m just going to back away.”
Beyond Trump’s occasionally optimistic rhetoric, no breakthrough appears in sight. Despite previously demanding an immediate ceasefire and backing Europe’s ultimatum for Russia to halt hostilities, he now appears to be once again easing off pressure on Moscow. He made no mention of his previous threats to impose sanctions on Russia if it did not agree to halt the fighting.
Moscow has consistently rejected extended ceasefire proposals, arguing they would give Ukraine time to rearm and regroup at a time Russian forces are making battlefield advances.
On Monday, Putin claimed Russia supported a halt to hostilities, but said it was necessary to “identify the most effective paths toward peace”.
Crucially, Putin repeated his longstanding refrain that the “root causes” of the war must be addressed: a reference to Russia’s far-reaching demands that would severely undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty.
These demands include forcing Ukraine to “denazify” and demilitarise, cutting back its armed forces, barring it from receiving western military support, and imposing sweeping limits on its sovereignty.
Since Trump’s re-election, Putin has been engaged in a delicate balancing act with the US president, appearing to support peace talks to stay in Trump’s favour, while pushing for terms that in effect amount to Ukraine’s capitulation.
In an apparent show of confidence and nonchalance, Putin took the call with Trump on Monday while touring a music school in Sochi. His bravado is fuelled by Russia’s slow but steady battlefield gains, Europe’s disjointed response, and a domestic economy increasingly adapted for a prolonged war.
Trump said he spoke with Zelenskyy and several European leaders after his call with Putin.
In a statement late on Monday, Zelenskyy insisted Ukraine was ready for a full ceasefire and direct negotiations with Moscow, but said: “If the Russians are not ready to stop the killings, there must be stronger sanctions. Pressure on Russia will push it toward real peace.”
He added: “If Putin puts forward unrealistic demands, this will mean that Russia continues to drag out the war, and deserves that Europe, America, and the world act accordingly, including with further sanctions. Russia must end the war it started, and it can begin doing so any day.”
Zelenskyy also rejected Russia’s demands for Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which Russia claims to have annexed but does not fully control. “No one will withdraw our troops from our territories,” he told reporters.
The Ukrainian leader also urged the US not to “distance itself from the talks and the pursuit of peace”.
“The only one who benefits from that is Putin,” he said.
The flurry of diplomatic activity on Monday came days after the first meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in three years, held in Istanbul. Those talks broke down after Russia demanded more territory as a condition for halting the fighting.
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A day after the delegations met, Trump said he would speak by phone with Putin to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. The US leader proclaimed “nothing will happen” on the peace talks until he met Putin.
But Putin and Trump remained silent on the prospect of a meeting on Monday.
Despite Putin’s continued refusal to agree to a temporary ceasefire, Trump has stopped short of directly criticising him – even as a growing consensus in Washington sees the Russian president as the main obstacle to progress in the peace talks.
As in previous calls, Putin appeared to cultivate a personal rapport with Trump, congratulating him on the birth of his 11th grandson, according to Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov.
Putin has publicly praised Trump on several occasions, flattering him as “courageous” after the 2024 assassination attempt at a campaign rally. He also claimed to have prayed for “his friend” after Trump was grazed by a bullet.
According to Ushakov, Trump told Putin during the call: “Vladimir, you can pick up the phone anytime. I’ll be happy to answer and happy to talk with you.”
Speaking before the call between the two leaders, the US vice-president, JD Vance, said Trump would press Putin on whether he was “serious” about ending the war.
“We realise there’s a bit of an impasse here. And I think the president’s going to say to President Putin: ‘Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?’” Vance said as he prepared to depart from Italy.
“I think honestly that President Putin, he doesn’t quite know how to get out of the war,” Vance said, adding that he had just spoken to Trump.
He said Trump may offer Putin economic incentives to accept some concessions on Ukraine in return for peace.
But the vice-president also raised the prospect of the US walking away from the talks – a scenario that will unsettle European allies and raise doubts about America’s willingness to keep providing military and economic aid to Ukraine.
Vance said that it “takes two to tango. I know the president’s willing to do that, but if Russia is not willing to do that, then we’re eventually just going to say, this is not our war.
Fearing that Trump might strike a deal with the Kremlin at Ukraine’s expense, European leaders rushed on Sunday to sway his thinking before the talks.
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he held talks with the leaders of the US, Italy, France and Germany on Sunday evening to coordinate efforts to pressure Russia into accepting an unconditional ceasefire, warning that new sanctions could be imposed if Moscow refuses to engage seriously.
The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said in a statement: “Putin must show he wants peace by accepting the 30-day unconditional ceasefire.”
