President Trump is speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday morning about the war in Ukraine and will then talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders.
In a post on Truth Social, the president said, “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.”
The president began speaking with Putin at some point after 10 a.m. ET, and will speak with Zelenskyy when the call concludes.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump said he and Putin would discuss the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. Vice President JD Vance met Sunday in Rome with Zelenskyy, their first face-to-face conversation since their explosive February Oval Office meeting.
“I don’t want to get ahead of those very important conversations, but of course, you will hear directly from the president or me after those calls conclude today, so you can expect that” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Monday morning press briefing.
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that he spoke to Mr. Trump ahead of the call. Vance said he thinks “the president’s going to say to president Putin, Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?'”
Vance said Mr. Trump is likely argue to Putin that there are “‘economic benefits to thawing relations between Russia and the rest of the world, but you’re not going to get those benefits.'”
“‘You keep on killing a lot of innocent people,'” Vance continued. “‘So, if you’re willing to stop the killing, the United States is willing to be a partner for peace.’ That’s been the proposal to the Russians, to the Ukrainians and frankly, to nations and other hotspots around the world.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview that aired Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that “one of the things that could help break this log jam — perhaps the only thing that can — is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.”
Mr. Trump and Putin last spoke in March.
Asked about the possibility of imposing secondary sanctions on Russia, Leavitt said everything is on the table.
Monday’s calls come on the heels of talks in Istanbul, attended by White House envoy Steve Wikoff. Neither Putin nor Zelenskyy attended.Mr. Trump said he didn’t think Putin would attend if he wasn’t there. The talks in Istanbul broke up after less than two hours, although both sides did agree to each exchange 1,000 prisoners of war, according to official delegations.