US President Donald Trump spoke with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for more than an hour last night, during which President Putin conceded the talks would not lead to immediate peace in Ukraine and warned that Russia would respond to Ukraine’s successful attacks this week on its airfields. President Trump described his 85-minute phone call with Putin as “a good conversation but not one that would lead to immediate peace”.
The US President, who repeatedly claimed he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours during his election campaign, did not attempt to discourage the Russian leader from retaliation, according to his description of the discussion on his Truth Social platform. Putin had offered to participate in US talks with Iran about its nuclear programme, which Trump claimed Tehran had been “slowwalking”.
In a televised virtual meeting with his aides yesterday, Putin once again ruled out a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine, claiming it would just give Kyiv time to regroup and rearm, while Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Moscow’s peace proposals presented earlier this week as nothing more than an ultimatum. The comments from both leaders confirmed negotiations in Istanbul on Monday had made no headway towards a truce, but the two sides signalled progress on other issues, including the transfer of captives and bodies.
