The Big Story 

President Trump on Monday said Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire, following phone calls with the leaders of each country. 

© (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, left and center, Pavel Bednyakov, right

The White House said Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about two hours, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day. 

The president also noted the Vatican has offered to host the negotiations.

Trump has been pushing for a 30-day ceasefire in the war, and the White House said before Monday’s calls that he was frustrated with both sides.

The president called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine before entering office, and more than two months of direct diplomacy has failed to get Putin to agree to even basic terms. 

The announcement of direct negotiations comes after Putin last week skipped appearing at direct talks in Istanbul that he proposed. 

While Zelensky traveled to Turkey in a bid to entice Putin, the Russian leader sent a low-level delegation to meet with the Ukrainian team. Agreement on a ceasefire was not reached, but the two sides agreed on a swap of 1,000 prisoners and committed to keep talking. 

On Monday, Trump described the tone and spirit of his conversation with Putin as “excellent.”  

Trump also said he spoke with the leaders of the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Finland immediately after his call with Putin and said the Vatican “would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!”

Putin, in remarks reported by Russian state media, said Russia was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a future peace treaty. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov downplayed expectations of quick agreement, saying ending the Ukraine war would require “rather painstaking and, perhaps, prolonged work,” Russian state media reported. 

Zelensky, speaking at a press conference Monday evening, rejected Putin’s demands to withdraw Ukrainian troops from four partially occupied regions. Russian negotiators reportedly raised those conditions during the talks in Istanbul. 

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

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