Trump's 2-hour phone call with Putin fails to achieve breakthrough in ending Ukraine war

Following last week's talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, U.S. President Trump spoke with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, respectively, about peace in Ukraine.

Putin called for the elimination of what he called "the root causes" of the war while Zelenskyy said decisions should not be made without Kyiv.

Bae Eun-ji tells us more.

Following the much-anticipated call between leaders from Washington and Moscow, U.S. President Donald Trump said he made progress during his conversation on Monday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

He proclaimed on his social media that the call "went very well" and that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to 'immediately' start negotiations toward a ceasefire, without providing details on when that will happen.

"We just spent two and a half hours talking to Vladimir Putin, and I think some progress has been made."

Putin, who described the call as "meaningful and frank," said Russia is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a possible future peace agreement.

But he did not address demands from the U.S. and European countries for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, meaning no major breakthrough in ending the war.

"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."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he also spoke with Trump before the American leader's call with Putin.

He called for an unconditional ceasefire, while urging stronger U.S. sanctions if Russia is not ready to end the war.

"I asked him before his conversation with Putin, not to make decisions about Ukraine without us. We agreed that we would get in touch after his conversation with Putin."

Zelenskyy also urged Washington not to distance itself from peace talks, saying he is considering a high-level meeting between Ukraine, Russia, the U.S., and European countries.

This comes after Trump said the conditions of a peace deal could only be negotiated between Russia and Ukraine, possibly with the help of the Pope, leading to speculation that this signals a possible shift in his stance that he was leaving the two countries to find a deal without the U.S. as a broker.

Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.