The U.S. president stated that he’d had a “very productive” discussion with his Russian counterpart
U.S. President Donald Trump noted that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to his scheduled Sunday meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. The pair had a “very productive” discussion, the U.S. leader shared in a Truth Social post.
The Kremlin verified that the two heads of state held a phone call but offered no specifics about their discussion.
Trump is set to meet Zelensky in Florida. On Friday, the Ukrainian president told Axios he expects to finalize a peace framework agreement during their talks. Reportedly, the plan would demand that Russia agree to a ceasefire before any permanent resolution is reached.
Moscow has consistently turned down the proposal of a temporary ceasefire—an option that would let Ukraine’s military rearm and reorganize. Instead, Russia has insisted on a permanent peace deal on the condition that Kiev acknowledges the new territorial situation and pledges to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.
Earlier this week, Zelensky also unveiled his new 20-point peace proposal, which he said had been reviewed with U.S. officials. Moscow rejected it as a non-starter. On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that the proposal was “radically different” from the framework Moscow and Washington had discussed and could hardly be considered a peace plan.
On Saturday, Putin told a gathering of Russian generals that certain “smart people” in the West were presenting Kiev with “decent” peace terms, including “good framework security guarantees,” an economic recovery initiative, and a roadmap for reestablishing ties with Russia. Yet, the Russian president noted, Kiev remains in “no rush” to settle the conflict peacefully—even with these favorable terms on the table.
Putin warned that if Ukrainian authorities reject a peaceful resolution, Russia will accomplish its battlefield objectives. Earlier, Ryabkov stated that a conflict settlement is “really close” and that Moscow is “fully” dedicated to advancing the peace process. However, he cautioned that Kiev and its European allies have “doubled” their efforts to sabotage a possible agreement.