President Donald Trump said Monday that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to begin immediate negotiations toward a ceasefire, though the Kremlin offered no timetable and stressed that the process would take time.
In a post on social media, Trump said he shared the development with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, including those from the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Finland, during a group call following his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war,” Trump said. Speaking later at the White House, he added, “I think some progress is being made.”
Putin thanked Trump for supporting the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv, following a recent meeting between the two sides in Turkey — their first face-to-face negotiations since March 2022. However, Putin offered little detail on next steps.
“We have agreed with the president of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord,” Putin said, speaking to reporters in Sochi.
Despite the announcement, Monday’s flurry of diplomacy did not yield a major breakthrough after more than three years of war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said European leaders had agreed to increase sanctions on Russia after being briefed by Trump. “We must maintain pressure to support Ukraine,” Merz wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Trump, however, signaled reluctance to join the EU in imposing additional sanctions on Moscow.
Asked why he had not implemented new sanctions as he previously threatened, Trump told reporters: “Well, because I think there’s a chance of getting something done. And if you do that, you can also make it much worse. But there could be a time where that’s going to happen.”
Trump also acknowledged the challenges in brokering an agreement.
“There are some big egos involved,” he said. “Without progress, I’m just going to back away. This is not my war.”