President Trump on Saturday announced that he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday as the administration has signaled frustration with Moscow over the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M.” he wrote on Truth Social. “THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE “BLOODBATH” THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE.”
Trump added that he will also speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO members about the over three-year long war, as the U.S. seeks to broker a peace deal in Eastern Europe.
“HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END,” the president continued.
The planned call comes after Trump told reporters on Friday that he would meet with Putin “as soon as we can set it up.”
The Trump administration has pushed for the two Eastern European countries to negotiate a 30-day ceasefire proposal for months.
Senior Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have indicated in recent days that an agreement with Moscow would likely require Trump and Putin to meet face-to-face.
“The only way to have a breakthrough between President Trump and Putin” is for them to meet, Rubio said, adding “nothing productive” will occur until those leaders engage.
The scheduled call also follows the latest round of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul — their first direct meeting in three years.
Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday, welcoming a prisoner exchange agreement that was reached in Turkey, and reiterating that the Trump administration “is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war.”
The remarks come after a Russian drone strike killed at least nine people in northeastern Ukraine earlier Saturday, according to The Associated Press.