Trump also spoke with with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in hopes of making progress toward a ceasefire.
“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,” Trump said in a social media post.
Trump said the call was “excellent,” adding, "If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later.” The conversations came after the White House said the U.S. leader has grown “frustrated” with both leaders over the continuing war in Ukraine.
After the call, Putin said Russia was ready to continue discussing an end to the fighting, but he indicated there was no major breakthrough in what he termed a “very informative and very frank” conversation with Trump. 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.”
“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,” the Russian president said.
Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov, who previously served as Russian ambassador to the U.S., described the conversation as friendly, with Trump and Putin addressing each other by their first names.
“Trump said, ‘Vladimir, you can pick up the phone at any time, and I will be happy to answer and speak with you,’” he said.
Ushakov also said Trump and Putin could meet face-to-face at some point, but no timeline was set.
Zelenskyy told reporters that he emphasized to Trump that no decisions should be made about Ukraine without involving Kyiv. He also said that he discussed the potential for “serious sanctions” on Russia.
A second phone call involving Trump included leaders from France, Italy and Finland, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Zelenskyy added. That call happened after Trump talked to Putin.
