US President Donald Trump expected to hold phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin

Moscow: On Monday, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to talk over the phone. Following their public confrontation in the White House Oval office last February, US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in person for the first time on Sunday in Rome.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump stated that he would speak with Putin on the phone at 10 a.m. ET (7:30 p.m. India time) on Monday. He would then call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of the nations that make up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), which includes France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy.

Preparations for the discussion are in progress, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said to the news agency TASS.

The two presidents’ most recent meeting, according to Russian official media, took place on March 18 and covered bilateral ties as well as the settlements in Ukraine and West Asia. According to the report, Putin at the time was somewhat hesitant about Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine. In addition to ordering the Russian Armed Forces to cease shelling, Putin promptly ordered a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure. According to TASS, the Kiev administration made no corresponding step.

Prior to that, on February 12, Putin and Trump spoke over the phone.

“The themes of the conversation will be halting the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5000″ Russian and Ukrainian troops every week, and commerce,” Trump said in his post on Truth Social on Saturday, before today’s call.

Last Friday’s in-person negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Turkey concluded without any progress.

“Our countries share the goal of ending unnecessary bloodshed in Ukraine, and we discussed updates on the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace,” Vance wrote on X after his meeting with Zelenskyy in Rome on Sunday. A picture of him and Zelensky, both grinning broadly, was included with the message. Additionally, Zelensky shared a photo of herself with Vance along with a “thank you” message.

“It was good to see Secretary of State Marco Rubio and JD Vance in Rome. The Ukrainian leader wrote on X, “We talked about the negotiations in Istanbul, where the Russians sent a low-level delegation with no decision-making powers.”

“We have also discussed the necessity of sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, the battlefield situation, and the impending exchange of prisoners,” he said. Until Russia is willing to end the conflict, pressure must be applied to them. Naturally, we also discussed how we may work together to bring about a fair and lasting peace.

According to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed the US’ commitment to resolving the issue in a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday.