Ukraine Russia war live: Trump says ceasefire talks will begin immediately but Putin refuses to give timeline

Donald Trump has said “it would be great” for Russia and Ukraine to hold ceasefire talks at the Vatican, saying it would add extra significance to the proceedings.

“The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!” the US president said.

The Vatican has not issued a comment on Mr Trump’s remarks yet.

Volodymyr Zelensky, who has already met Pope Leo XIV twice now and spoken to him on the phone, welcomed the Vatican as a possible venue to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

“Ukraine is ready for direct negotiations with Russia in any format that brings results,” Mr Zelensky said on X. He said that this could be hosted by Turkey, the Vatican or Switzerland.

The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality and has long offered its services, and venues, to try to help facilitate talks.

European and US leaders have welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s offer to host Russia-Ukraine talks at the Vatican,

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday that European leaders, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz, spoke to US president Donald Trump after he had a call with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“Work is underway to immediately start negotiations between the parties that can lead to a ceasefire as soon as possible and build the conditions for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Meloni’s office said in a statement.

“In this regard, the Holy Father’s willingness to host the talks at the Vatican was considered positive. Italy is ready to do its part to facilitate contacts and work for peace,” the statement added.

The Kremlin has described more details about Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s phone call from yesterday.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov stressed the warm nature of the conversation, saying the two men addressed each other by their first names and Mr Putin congratulated the US president on the birth of his latest grandson.

“Trump said: Vladimir, you can pick up the phone at any time, I will be happy to answer, I will be happy to talk to you,” Mr Ushakov said.

On Monday, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sat down and spoke for two hours over the phone.

Both leaders said the call was a success, with Putin agreeing to work towards a peace deal with Ukraine.

Here is an overview of the call:

– The call began at around 3:30pm UK time, and lasted for two hours.

– The pair spoke over an encrypted line, Putin from Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi and Trump in Washington.

– Putin said the call was “very informative and helpful”.

– Moscow said it was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about future peace talks, as Trump said negotiations will now begin “immediately”.

– Trump said the call went “very well” and spoke to several world leaders Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni after he spoke with Putin.

– He also said that ceasefire negotiations could be held by the Vatican.

– They are said to have addressed each other by their first names, and Putin congratulated Trump on the birth of his latest grandson, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.

– The pair also discussed a potential US-Russia trade deal, which Trump said was a possibility once the war was over.

– They also discussed a potential new prisoner swap during the call, as Ushakov said the two countries were working out details of an exchange involving nine people on each side.

– After the call, Zelensky said it was possible that leaders from Ukraine, Russia, US, EU and UK leaders could meet.

Shortly before Donald Trump called Russian president Vladimir Putin, US vice president JD Vance told reporters that Washington recognised there was “a bit of an impasse here”.

“And I think the president’s going to say to president Putin: ‘Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?'” Mr Vance said as he prepared to depart from a visit to Italy.

“I think honestly that president Putin, he doesn’t quite know how to get out of the war,” Mr Vance said.

He said it “takes two to tango. I know the president’s willing to do that, but if Russia is not willing to do that, then we’re eventually just going to say, ‘This is not our war.'”

“We’re going to try to end it, but if we can’t end it, we’re eventually going to say: ‘You know what? That was worth a try, but we’re not doing any more.'”

Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine “will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War” after he spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin yesterday.

Mr Trump spoke to his Russian counterpart in a two-hour long call where the two discussed expanding trade once the Ukraine war is over.

Here’s everything Mr Trump has said after the call:

On fresh sanctions to push Moscow into a peace deal:

“Well because I think there’s a chance of getting something done, and if you do that, you can also make it much worse. But there could be a time where that’s going to happen.”

On ending US-led peace efforts:

Mr Trump said there were “some big egos involved.” Without progress, “I’m just going to back away,” he said, repeating a warning that he could abandon the process. “This is not my war.”

“… (I) have a red line in my head on when I’ll stop pushing on Russia-Ukraine,” he said.

On peace talks at the Vatican:

Mr Trump said the Vatican, “as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!”

Vladimir Putin was quick on the draw with an announcement that said nothing after his two-hour phone call with Donald Trump, as the Russian president grabbed the narrative before the Oval Office had figured out what the story even was.

Donald Trump claims his two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin went ‘very well’, but it is the Russian president who calls the shots, writes Sam Kiley, The Independent’s world affairs editor:

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the “impressive” prospects for improving ties between their two countries in a phone call on Monday, the Kremlin has said.

Mr Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the two leaders had not discussed a timeline for a ceasefire in Ukraine, but that Trump had stressed his interest in reaching agreements quickly.

“The presidents also spoke in some detail about the future of our relations, and President Trump, I can say, spoke quite emotionally about the prospects for these relations,” Ushakov said.

“He specifically emphasised that the prospects for bilateral relations after the Ukrainian conflict is resolved look impressive, and that as the president of the United States, he sees Russia as one of America’s most important partners in trade and economic matters.”

Donald Trump has said “it would be great” for Russia and Ukraine to hold ceasefire talks at the Vatican, saying it would add extra significance to the proceedings.

“The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!” the US president said.

The Vatican has not issued a comment on Mr Trump’s remarks yet.

Volodymyr Zelensky, who has already met Pope Leo XIV twice now and spoken to him on the phone, welcomed the Vatican as a possible venue to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

“Ukraine is ready for direct negotiations with Russia in any format that brings results,” Mr Zelensky said on X. He said that this could be hosted by Turkey, the Vatican or Switzerland.

The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality and has long offered its services, and venues, to try to help facilitate talks.