US President Donald Trump held a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the evening of May 19.

Following the discussion, Trump addressed reporters at the White House, stating that he asked Putin when the “bloodbath” in Ukraine would end and warned that he might withdraw from the conflict resolution process if there was no “significant progress” in negotiations.

Trump also announced that Russia and Ukraine would “immediately” begin negotiations for a ceasefire and to end the war.

Trump’s sanctions message

Addressing Putin, Trump stated, “I told him: You have to make progress. And I also added: If I think you cannot do this, I will withdraw [from the resolution process], because what can be done?”

The US President indicated that he had a “red line” where he would decide to withdraw from negotiations but did not specify what it was.

In such a scenario, Trump stated that the US would transfer its role in the resolution to Europe, emphasizing that the war in Ukraine should have remained Europe’s problem from the very beginning and that Washington should not have been involved.

Despite this, Trump expressed his assurance that significant changes would occur after his meeting with Putin. The US President said, “Big egos are involved, but I think something will happen.”

Trump also noted that he would not impose sanctions on Russia because there was a chance of progress toward ending the war, adding, “If you do that (impose sanctions on Russia), you could make the situation much worse. But a time may come when that happens.”

In a post on his social media account, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “My two-hour phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin just ended. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations for a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war.”

He emphasized that the conditions for future agreements would be determined directly by Moscow and Kyiv because “only they know the details that no one else knows.” Trump also added that his meeting with Putin took place in a constructive atmosphere.

Putin proposes memorandum for peace agreement

Following his discussion with Trump, Vladimir Putin also issued a statement, indicating that Russia was ready to consider the possibility of a ceasefire only if “appropriate agreements” were reached.

Putin reiterated that Moscow’s primary priority was to eliminate the “root causes of this crisis,” stating, “Russia is ready to work on a memorandum regarding a possible future peace agreement with the Ukrainian side.”

According to Putin, this document could include a series of key parameters such as principles for resolution, a timeline for signing a peace agreement, and conditions for a possible temporary ceasefire.

Zelenskyy Greenlights Memorandum

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, stated that Kyiv was ready to sign a memorandum that would pave the way for an agreement to end the war with Moscow. Zelenskyy expressed that they would await Russia’s draft document before a new round of negotiations to understand Moscow’s views on how a ceasefire could be achieved and what the subsequent steps might be.

He also added that the next meeting of Ukrainian and Russian representatives could take place in Vatican City, Istanbul, or Switzerland, with the participation of the US, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.

Kremlin: No specific timeline for memorandum

Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that Russia had not set any specific timeline for preparing a possible peace agreement memorandum with Ukraine.

Peskov stated, “There is no timeline, and there cannot be. It is clear that everyone wants to do this as soon as possible, but of course, all the devil is in the details.”

According to Peskov, Moscow and Kyiv would create their own memorandum drafts, and then the parties would engage in “complex contacts to ultimately agree on a single text.”

At the same time, he emphasized that the most important thing for Russia in any document was the “elimination of the root causes of this conflict.”

Peskov also stated, “No concrete decisions have yet been made regarding where contacts between Russia and Ukraine will continue.”

The phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin took place on the evening of May 19. Before this call, Trump had also spoken by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House President asked Zelenskyy which topics he should raise with Putin during their meeting.

It was reported that Zelenskyy asked Trump to persuade Putin to hold a personal meeting with him and offered the US President to participate in such a meeting.

Additionally, Zelenskyy insisted that Trump confirm that Washington would not make any decisions regarding Ukraine without Kyiv’s participation.

Trump signals broad trade potential

The US President also stated that Putin expressed readiness for large-scale commercial cooperation with the US after the war ends.

Trump emphasized, “Russia wants to develop extensive trade relations with the United States after this disastrous ‘bloodbath’ ends. And I support this idea.”

Noting that Russia has significant economic potential and opportunities to create jobs and raise living standards, Trump said, “This potential is almost unlimited.”

Trump added that Ukraine could also be one of the main beneficiaries of future trade relations during the post-war reconstruction process.

Trump concluded his remarks by saying, “Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately; I informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Germany’s current Chancellor is Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merz is the CDU/CSU opposition leader), and Finnish President Aleksandr Stubb of this in my phone calls immediately after my meeting with Vladimir Putin. Vatican City, through the Pope, expressed special interest in these negotiations taking place on its territory. Let the process begin!”

The Athens administration has taken action to prevent Ankara from being included in the 150 billion euro European armament fund.

According to a report in Kathimerini, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed its ambassadors in EU capitals to formally raise the issue with the relevant authorities – namely the foreign and defense ministries.

The instruction emphasized that Greece “has already shown its flexibility and its concerns must be taken into account.”

The issue is also time-sensitive because the Polish EU presidency aims for the new SAFE (Security Action for Europe) regulation to ideally be adopted at the General Affairs Council meeting on May 27th.

Greek diplomats were instructed to emphasize that Athens is seeking a viable solution to avoid a potential deadlock at this meeting.

So far, negotiations regarding the SAFE regulation have focused on the European Commission’s proposal, which would allow decisions on the participation of third countries in the EU defense industry to be made by a qualified majority vote.

If this proposal is accepted, Greece will lose its right to veto bilateral or multilateral EU agreements involving companies linked to candidate countries, including Türkiye.

According to Kathimerini, the discussion is particularly urgent because Türkiye cannot currently sign a security and defense partnership agreement with the EU. Such agreements require alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and Türkiye has only met 6% of these conditions. In contrast, Serbia meets approximately 60% of these conditions.

Furthermore, such partnerships require good neighborly relations with all EU member states, which is impossible in Türkiye’s case due to the unresolved Cyprus issue.

According to the report, Athens has very few concrete options under these circumstances. The Greek administration insists that unanimity should be maintained even in joint ventures involving companies with ultimate ownership outside the EU, such as Piaggio Aerospace or Baykar.

The strictest condition Athens wants to implement, as publicly hinted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his recent meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is that such collaborations can only proceed with countries that fully align with EU values. In other words, the criteria for a “like-minded” state must be clearly and precisely defined.

Negotiations with the United Kingdom concluded recently, and a working formula was agreed upon. An official announcement may be made soon. However, discussions concerning Türkiye are expected to take longer.

Meanwhile, Greece has aligned with France on reducing the participation share of third countries in EU defense consortia from the current 35% to 15%, to ensure EU resources remain within Europe.

Leading diplomats from the European Union (EU) have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of undermining the process by refusing to participate in peace negotiations planned for May 15 in Türkiye, aimed at ending the conflict with Ukraine.

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Poland, Czechia, and Estonia made strong statements on the matter.

Delegations from the warring countries are already in Türkiye. The Ukrainian delegation is effectively headed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while the Russian delegation is led by Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that Zelenskyy showed good faith by coming to Türkiye, but where Putin should have been seated, there remained “an empty chair.”

Barrot stated, “Putin is trying to buy time, and it is clear that he does not want to enter into peace negotiations, despite US President Donald Trump expressing his readiness and willingness to mediate.”

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made a similar statement. The Minister expressed, “Putin is exaggerating his position. The whole world expects him to finally fulfill the demand to sit at the negotiating table with a delegation appropriate to the seriousness of the situation.”

According to Wadephul, Zelenskyy’s willingness to engage in direct dialogue with Putin deserves respect, but the Russian side “is not showing a sign that it is approaching the negotiations seriously.” Wadephul warned that this behavior would not be without consequences and that Europe was discussing further sanctions.

On the other hand, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, speaking at a high-level meeting of NATO diplomats in Antalya, argued that the Kremlin’s decision to send a low-level delegation to the negotiations in Istanbul showed that Putin was “trying to buy time.”

Sikorski added, “We hope that the US President sees this cynicism for what it is and draws the right conclusions.”

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský stated that Putin’s refusal to meet Zelenskyy directly in Istanbul showed the Russian President’s cowardice.

The Minister remarked, “The real question is whether this can be called a peace negotiation. Putin is clearly afraid. He sent one of the ideological figures, which in itself is a signal of how he is approaching this, meaning not very positively.”

Lipavský also added that his counterparts attending the informal meeting in Antalya expressed a shared view that Putin’s actions showed he did not want to take a step forward.

The Czech Minister said, “European leaders clearly stated that new sanctions could be forthcoming.”

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna also criticized the level of the Russian delegation tasked with conducting the first direct talks with Kyiv in three years.

Tsahkna declared, “Russia’s rejection of a ceasefire and sending an ultra-nationalist with no political status to Istanbul instead of Putin is a slap in the face to Ukraine and its allies. Russia is still not interested in peace, which means we need to increase pressure.”

Lipavský and Barrot also shared a photo taken with US Senator Lindsey Graham. The two ministers reported that the congressman confirmed the US was ready to tighten sanctions on Russia if Putin continued to stand in the way of peace.

Putin had proposed the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since spring 2022 take place in Istanbul on May 15. This offer came in response to a demand from the US and EU countries for a 30-day ceasefire.

Zelenskyy had announced he was ready to meet Putin in person in Türkiye. However, the Russian President sent a delegation led by his aide, Medinsky.

The negotiation group also included Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin.

Zelenskyy described the Russian delegation as “a show.” Ukraine was expected to be represented in the negotiations by Head of the Presidential Administration Andrey Yermak, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Andrey Sibiga, and Presidential Diplomacy Advisor Igor Zhovkva. It was noted that Zelenskyy planned to attend the meeting only if Putin also participated.