US President Donald Trump announced that he will talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, expressing hope that they may have “something to announce” regarding the US-brokered ceasefire proposal for the war in Ukraine.
“We’re doing pretty well, I think, with Russia. We’ll see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I’ll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night while returning to the White House.
Trump said significant work had been done over the weekend, with efforts focused on ending the war. “Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance,” he said.
According to Trump, both sides have already discussed key issues, including land and power plants, as part of the negotiations. “A lot of land is a lot different than it was before the war,” he noted, adding that talks have also covered the division of assets.
The Kremlin confirmed last week that US negotiators would travel to Russia for further discussions, though it did not disclose details about the delegation.
This development followed Trump’s announcement that Ukraine had accepted a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire, shifting the focus to Russia’s response. While Putin initially said that Moscow agreed with the proposal “in theory,” he also set out tough conditions, demanding concessions from Kyiv. He repeated his long-standing claim that Ukraine’s government was part of the “root cause” of the war.
On Friday, Putin also suggested that Russia was working towards restoring relations with the US, which he claimed had been “practically reduced to zero, destroyed by the previous American administration.” However, he acknowledged that “the situation is starting to move” under Trump’s leadership.