Trump hopes for ceasefire progress in Russia-Ukraine war in Monday calls with Putin and Zelenskyy

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is hoping abstracted telephone calls Monday with Russian person Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy volition marque advancement toward a ceasefire successful the war successful Ukraine.

Trump expressed his hopes for a “productive day” Monday — and a ceasefire — successful a societal media station implicit the weekend. His effort volition besides see calls to NATO leaders.

Trump has struggled to extremity a warfare that began with Russia’s penetration successful February 2022, and that makes these conversations a superior trial of his estimation arsenic a dealmaker aft having claimed helium would quickly settee the conflict erstwhile helium was backmost successful the White House, if not adjacent earlier helium took office.

The Republican president is banking connected the thought that his unit of property and idiosyncratic past with Putin volition beryllium capable to interruption immoderate impasse implicit a intermission successful the fighting.

“His sensibilities are that he’s got to get connected the telephone with President Putin, and that is going to wide up immoderate of the logjam and get america to the spot that we request to get to,” said Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff. “I deliberation it’s going to beryllium a precise palmy call.”

Still, determination are fears that Trump has an affinity for Putin that could enactment Ukraine astatine a disadvantage with immoderate agreements engineered by the U.S. government.

Bridget Brink said she resigned past period arsenic the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine "because the argumentation since the opening of the medication was to enactment unit connected the unfortunate Ukraine, alternatively than connected the aggressor, Russia.”

Brink said the motion that she needed to depart was an Oval Office gathering successful February wherever Trump and his squad openly berated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently deferential to them.

“I judge that bid astatine immoderate terms is not bid astatine all,” Brink said. “It’s appeasement and arsenic we cognize from history, appeasement lone leads to much war.”

Trump's vexation astir the warfare had been gathering earlier his station Saturday connected Truth Social astir the coming calls, which helium said would statesman archetypal with Putin astatine 10 a.m. Monday.

Trump said his treatment with Putin would absorption connected stopping the “bloodbath” of the war. It besides volition screen trade, a motion that Trump mightiness beryllium seeking to usage fiscal incentives to broker immoderate benignant of statement aft Russia's penetration led to terrible sanctions by the United States and its allies that person steadily eroded Moscow's quality to grow.

Trump's hope, according to the post, is that “a warfare that should person ne'er happened volition end.”

His treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said Sunday connected NBC's “Meet the Press” that Trump had made it wide that a nonaccomplishment by Putin to negociate “in bully faith” could pb to further sanctions against Russia.

Bessent suggested the sanctions that began during the medication of Democratic President Joe Biden were inadequate due to the fact that they did not halt Russia's lipid revenues, owed to concerns that doing truthful would summation U.S. prices. The United States sought to headdress Russia's lipid revenues portion preserving the country's petroleum exports to bounds the harm from the ostentation that the warfare produced.

Putin precocious rejected an connection by Zelenskyy to meet in-person successful Turkey arsenic an alternate to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including Washington.

Those talks ended connected Friday aft little than 2 hours, without a ceasefire successful place. Still, some countries committed to speech 1,000 prisoners of warfare each, with Ukraine’s quality chief, Kyrylo Budanov, saying connected Ukrainian tv Saturday that the exchanges could hap arsenic aboriginal arsenic this week.

While wrapping up his four-day travel to the Middle East, Trump said connected Friday that Putin had not gone to Turkey due to the fact that Trump himself wasn't there.

“He and I volition meet, and I deliberation we’ll lick it oregon possibly not,” Trump told reporters aft boarding Air Force One. “At slightest we’ll know. And if we don’t lick it, it’ll beryllium precise interesting.”

Zelenskyy met with Trump's vice president, JD Vance, and apical diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, successful Rome connected Sunday, arsenic good arsenic European leaders, intensifying his efforts earlier the Monday calls.

The Ukrainian president said connected the societal media tract X that during his talks with the American officials, they discussed the negotiations successful Turkey and that “the Russians sent a debased level delegation of non-decision-makers.” He besides said helium stressed that Ukraine is engaged successful ”real diplomacy” to person a ceasefire.

“We person besides touched upon the request for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defence cooperation, battlefield concern and upcoming prisoners exchange,” Zelenskyy said. “Pressure is needed against Russia until they are anxious to halt the war.”

The propulsion came arsenic the Kremlin launched its largest drone barrage against Ukraine since the commencement of the full-scale penetration successful 2022, firing a full of 273 exploding drones and decoys, Ukraine’s aerial unit said Sunday. The attacks targeted the country’s Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.

Witkoff spoke Sunday connected ABC's “This Week” and Brink appeared connected CBS' “Face the Nation.”

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