President Donald Trump celebrated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to hold direct peace talks with Ukraine, conversations that could end the three-year war between the two countries.
“A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!” Trump said in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending ‘bloodbath’ hopefully comes to an end,” he continued in the statement to Truth Social. “It will be a whole new, and much better, WORLD. I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens. The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!”
Trump’s comments came in response to an announcement from Putin proposing “serious negotiations without any preconditions” with Ukraine to eliminate the “root causes of the conflict.”
“We do not exclude that during these talks we will be able to agree on some new ceasefire,” the Russian leader added.
Putin called for the talks to take place in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Putin’s proposal a “positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war.”
“The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time,” he said in a post to X.
“And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire. There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day,” he continued. “Ukraine is ready to meet.”
However, Zelensky added that the Instanbul peace talks must be preceded with a “complete, lasting, and credible” ceasefire starting May 12, a proposal Russia swiftly shot down.
“Putin was clear: first negotiations about the root causes [of the conflict], then talk of ceasefire,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, per BBC News.
French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Russia for not agreeing to a full ceasefire before coming to the negotiating table with Ukraine.
“It’s a first step but it’s not enough,” Macron told reporters early Sunday morning. “An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations.”
The Trump administration has fought for months to bring Ukraine and Russia together to bring an end to the war. In March, Ukraine agreed to an immediate 30-day ceasefire proposal spearheaded by the White House meant to serve as the first step to ending the war. However, the plan was rejected by Russia.
On Saturday, Zelensky and European leaders held a high-level summit meeting during which they also pressured Russia to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire by May 12.
Russia is stalling and “asking for too much” because Moscow’s “perception of the war is, on the ground, they’re winning,” according to the Trump administration.
VANCE SAYS RUSSIA IS ‘ASKING FOR TOO MUCH’ TO END INVASION OF UKRAINE
However, Trump is still hopeful that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff can pull off a deal.
“Mr. Witkoff is talking constantly back and forth. He’s a real professional who’s got a great relationship with both countries,” Trump said at the White House on Thursday. “And I think we have a good chance.”
