Updated May 19, 2025 at 11:34 AM MDT
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to reject a proposal by President Trump for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine — the latest setback in efforts to negotiate an end to the war.
Trump and Putin spoke for more than two hours by phone in a conversation the Russian leader later called "constructive" and "useful." In remarks after the call, Putin thanked Trump for his diplomatic efforts and insisted the search for peace in Ukraine was "on the right track."
"We have agreed with the president of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord, defining a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of a settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement," Putin said in the southern Russian resort city of Sochi on Monday.
But he did not mention agreeing to the immediate temporary ceasefire sought by Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe.
"Russia is for a peaceful settlement to the Ukraine crisis. But we should determine the most effective path towards that peace," Putin said.
President Trump is working the phones on Monday, with plans to call not only Putin but leaders of Ukraine and other European countries as he continues efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Writing on social media over the weekend, Trump said he would discuss how to stop the "bloodbath" between Russia and Ukraine and hoped Monday would be a "productive day" of calls. Vice President Vance said before the calls that peace talks were at an "impasse" and the U.S. was "more than open to walking away."
The phone diplomacy follows direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on Friday, where both sides said they would each exchange 1,000 prisoners of war but failed to agree on an immediate ceasefire. The negotiations hosted by Turkey's foreign minister were the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin skipped the meeting in Turkey, despite having called for it to happen in an apparent attempt to seize the diplomatic initiative from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Since then, Russia has kept up the military pressure on Ukraine, launching mass drone attacks throughout the weekend that killed at least 11 people. The attacks included a barrage on Sunday that Ukrainian authorities said was the largest since the conflict began.
Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would call Zelenskyy after his call with Putin. She also repeated that Trump has "grown very frustrated with both sides of the conflict" but was keeping his options open.
As Vice President Vance prepared to depart from Italy, he told reporters, "I think, honestly, President Putin, he doesn't quite know how to get out of the war."
In a weekend interview on Russian state television, Putin insisted Moscow maintained both the force and means capable of meeting its military objectives. He said that would include security for residents in territories of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed but does not fully control.
Should Trump fail to convince Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire, European leaders have urged Trump to join them in imposing an endgame round of additional sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy and banking.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Rome on Sunday, and said he urged the administration to take a tough stance on Moscow. "Pressure is needed against Russia until they are eager to stop the war," Zelenskyy said on social media.
Yet analysts in Moscow tell NPR the Kremlin has entered these negotiations convinced that time and a military advantage are on its side.
"Russia at this certain point can continue its military operations. Sanctions are inflicting harm but this harm is not critical for macro-economics of Russia," Ivan Timofeev, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, said, noting the Russian army is making slow but steady gains.
"So in a year, Ukraine can find itself in a less favorable negotiating position," he added.
This is a developing story.
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