While US President Donald Trump sounded victorious after holding talks with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, respectively, the warring countries are yet to agree on a timeline for the ceasefire. Both nations have agreed to sign an MoU that would pave the way for future peace talks.
Addressing presspersons after the talks, the Russian president said he was ready to "discuss compromises". He added that the root cause of the crisis must be addressed. Speaking to reporters at Sochi, Putin said Russia is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum addressing possible terms for a future peace agreement, including defining a number of key positions, TASS reported. "Russia’s position remains clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Putin said.
#WATCH | US President Donald Trump says, "...My little conversation with a nice gentleman named Vladimir Putin. We had a good talk, and I think that progress is being made. 5,000 young soldiers are being killed every single week on average. And it's a number probably worse than… pic.twitter.com/kycWSNJfhr
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2025
However, Putin did not agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there are no deadlines for MoU as "the devil is in the details". "The drafts will be formulated by both the Russian and Ukrainian sides, these draft documents will be exchanged, and then complex contacts to develop a single text," Reuters reported, quoting Peskov.
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Reacting to the talks, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said it might seek a high-level meeting among Ukraine, Russia, the United States, European Union countries and Britain as part of a push to end the war. "Ukraine is ready for direct negotiations with Russia in any format that brings results," Zelenskiy tweeted.
Zelenskyy, later told presspersons, "There could be a respective memorandum in the bilateral format, which may then lead to a roadmap toward ending the war, that is, toward a full agreement. This memorandum, supported by both countries, would include provisions for a ceasefire," Ukraine news agency Ukrinform reported.
US President Trump on Monday said that his two-hour telephone conversation with Putin was a success and the “tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent”. He added that the warring nations would soon begin negotiations, first towards a ceasefire, and then towards an end to the conflict itself.
