TRANSCRIPT
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken by phone for over two hours about a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.
Both sides say the conversation was constructive, with Mr Trump stating it went very well and Mr Putin calling it very substantive.
"We just spent two and a half hours talking to Vladimir Putin, and I think some progress has been made. It's a terrible situation going on over there; 5,000 young people every single week are being killed. So hopefully we did something. We also spoke to the heads of most of the European nations, and we're trying to get that whole thing wrapped up."
President Trump says he is confident a ceasefire will be reached, but if not, the US will walk away.
"I think something is going to happen. It's a very, very big egos involved, I'll tell you. Big egos involved. But I think something's going to happen. And if it doesn't, I'd just back away and they're going to have to keep going. Again, this is a European situation. It should have remained a European situation, should have remained. But we have, because the past administration felt very strongly that we should be involved, we got involved much more than Europe did in terms of the money."
President Trump posted on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine would immediately begin ceasefire negotiations.
Speaking to reporters in Sochi, Mr Putin confirmed the call and thanked Mr Trump for supporting renewed peace talks.
"The conversation (with President Donald Trump) indeed took place and lasted more than two hours. I would like to note that it was very informative and very frank and overall, in my view, very useful in this regard. First, I thanked the President of the United States for the support of the United States in the resumption of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on a possible peace agreement, on the resumption of negotiations that were interrupted by the Ukrainian side, as you know, back in 2022."
President Putin said Russia is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum for a future peace deal, including settlement principles and terms for a ceasefire.
"The U-S president has expressed his position on the ceasefire, and I for my part also noted that Russia also favours a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. ... We agreed with the U-S president that Russia will suggest and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace treaty, which defines a number of issues, such as the principles of settlement, the terms of a possible peace agreement and so on, including a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time, if the appropriate agreements are reached."
A Kremlin adviser said the exchange of prisoners was also discussed, but no timeline for a ceasefire was set.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that he was briefed by President Trump both before and after the call with President Putin.
"I had two calls with President Trump today in different formats. The first one was that we talked about the fact that a ceasefire is very important for Ukraine. These are, in principle, unconditional things that we discussed in Istanbul and constantly before that. ... I asked him before his conversation with Putin, not to make decisions about Ukraine without us. And for us these are matters of principle. And very important. We agreed that we would get in touch after his conversation with Putin."
Mr Zelenskyy also rejected any suggestion of pulling Ukrainian forces out of its own territory.
"No one will be pulling our troops out of our own territory. It is my constitutional duty, it is the duty of our military to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. ... If Russia sets conditions for withdrawing our troops from our land, it means they don't want a ceasefire and they don't want the war to end, because they clearly understand that Ukraine won't do that."
President Zelenskyy said a high-level summit involving Ukraine, Russia, the US, the EU and the UK is under discussion, with possible venues including Turkiye or Switzerland.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin confirmed that the US and Russian presidents may hold a face-to-face meeting once preparations are complete.
Yuri Ushakov is a Kremlin foreign policy aide.
"It is very important that both presidents agreed to continue the dialogue on all the issues raised, including, of course, on the Ukrainian issue. And they keep in mind the possibility of organizing a personal meeting in the future. But it is necessary to create the necessary conditions for this. And both presidents agree that such a meeting should be well and comprehensively prepared. It needs to be carefully worked out, and such instructions will be given to the appropriate teams."
Mr Ushakov added that the conversation ended warmly, with both leaders addressing each other by their first names.
"In the context of such a frank and friendly exchange of views, the presidents agreed that they would call each other as needed. So, Trump said: ‘Vladimir, you can pick up the phone at any time, I'll be happy to answer, I'll be happy to talk to you.’ This ending (of the phone call) also characterises the nature of the conversation that took place between the leaders."
No agreement on a ceasefire date has been reached.
Mr Trump reportedly mentioned a sanctions bill in the Senate but said he prefers negotiation over punishment.
"Trump mentioned that, in principle, a bill on new sanctions was ready in the Senate, but he himself was not a supporter of sanctions, but a supporter of reaching specific agreements."
In a separate development, Russia has banned Amnesty International, citing its support for Ukraine.
Ceasefire talks are set to resume, and a broader peace summit is being explored.
But for now, Ukraine remains firm on its position - no deal without its direct involvement, and no retreat from its own territory.
