According to Axios, former U.S. President Donald Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to put forward a proposal to end the war that would not be immediately rejected by Kyiv and European countries.
Following his conversation with Putin, Trump held a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Finland, and the European Commission. He reportedly told them that Putin had agreed to begin direct ceasefire negotiations immediately. Sources say this statement caused confusion among the participants.
Zelensky reminded those present that Putin had previously expressed readiness for negotiations, including recent talks in Istanbul, but these efforts yielded no results. He stressed that Russia would not make concessions without pressure from the United States.
Sources claim that Trump said he had asked Putin to propose terms that could be acceptable to both Ukraine and Europe. Trump also mentioned that he expects a “peace memorandum” from Putin outlining his conditions for a ceasefire.
The White House stated that Trump never insisted on an unconditional ceasefire as a prerequisite for negotiations and did not delegate the authority to set terms to Zelensky.
Sources speaking to Axios noted that Trump seemed to view Putin’s response as a step forward, even though, in their view, the Russian position had not changed. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that Trump had made no concessions to the Kremlin and rejected criticism of the administration’s policy toward Ukraine.
