US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would he contacting both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, in a bid to bring about a ceasefire in the conflict that is well into its third year.
This comes a day after the first direct Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations (since Russia's special military operation in February 2022) took place at Istanbul on Friday, although the two sides failed to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Just hours after the talks had concluded, drone attacks killed nine bus passengers in northeastern Ukraine, which prompted a strong reaction from President Zelenskyy—who confirmed that the victims had all been civilians—and his European allies, who urged for “tougher sanctions” on Russia.
"Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy," he had said in the X post, that also had graphic pictures of the destroyed Mercedes bus on a bloodied road.
Despite Zelenskyy goading Putin to attend the Istanbul talks, and Trump offering to join the talks if Putin were to show up, the Kremlin leader did not attend the negotiations, choosing instead to send what Kyiv's president called a “weak and unprepared” delegation.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump stated that he would be calling Vladimir Putin on Monday at 10 AM EST (7:30 AM IST).
He added that he would speak to Zelenskyy and various members of the NATO afterwards.
“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,” he said.
Trump has been pushing for peace between the two nations for a long time, especially at the Paris talks a month ago, where he was joined by his envoy Steve Witkoff in presenting a draft proposal to end the Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
Trump had also mentioned America's growing recalcitrance to keep pushing for a resolution to the conflict, warning of a complete withdrawal from the issue if the two sides continued to fight.
Yet, the conflict persists.
Moscow's negotiators at the Istanbul peace negotiations demanded that Kyiv's troops be pulled out of all the Ukrainian regions it had occupied, after which they would agree to a ceasefire, a Reuters report said, quoting a senior Ukrainian official.
