President Donald Trump has said he will be speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, amid attempts to procure a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine.
“I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 a.m.,” Trump announced on his Truth Social account on Saturday, May 17.
He said the subjects of the call will be “stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.”
Trump said after this call, he will then speak separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“Hopefully it will be a productive day, a cease-fire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end, God bless us all,” Trump concluded.
The announcement from Trump comes after officials from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday to hold direct talks about the pursuit of peace. Notably, neither Zelensky or Putin were present at the summit.
In a sign of progress, the two countries did agree to the largest prisoner swap of the war, committing to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each.
Europe and the U.S. have previously proposed a 30-day cease-fire, which Ukraine has accepted. But Putin has refused to accept the proposal unless a list of his demands are met.
This story is being updated.
