On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to engage in separate phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The discussions aim to advance efforts toward a potential ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. A Kremlin spokesman confirmed that Trump's call with Putin is set for 10 a.m. ET.
"THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH' THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE," Trump said in a statement on social media.
On Sunday, President Zelenskyy met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Rome, discussing the situation in Ukraine. In addition, Trump plans to talk with other NATO leaders as part of his initiative to broker an agreement in the region.
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The negotiations will come after Putin decided not to accept Zelenskyy's invitation for a face-to-face meeting. However, delegations involving officials from Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey met on Friday. The talks in Istanbul represented the first time government officials from Russia and Ukraine have met face-to-face since 2022.
The Associated Press reported that the two sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each. They also agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals and to arrange a meeting by their heads of state, the AP reported.
President Trump indicated that Putin would not meet with Zelenskyy unless the American leader was present.
"They all said Putin was going and Zelenskyy was going. And I said, If I don't go, I guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn't go. And I understand that, but we're going to get it done," President Trump said on Friday.
