“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. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Officials from Ukraine and Russia on Friday held their first direct talks in more than three years, mediated by Turkey. Yet while the two sides agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners in coming days, expectations going into the meeting were low after Putin decided not to attend — sending only a low-level delegation and declining to commit to a ceasefire proposal.
During the talks in Istanbul, the Russians repeated broad demands, including their country’s control of five regions of Ukraine.
In an interview Friday on Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier, Trump suggested that a face-to-face meeting with Putin might be the only way to achieve a ceasefire. He also lashed out at Zelenskiy, repeating his claim that the Ukrainian leader doesn’t “have the cards” to hold off Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday that a call between Trump and Putin is being prepared. Earlier, the Kremlin said a meeting between the two leaders could take place if the two sides come to certain, unspecified agreements.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome on Saturday that Vatican City would be one possible location for an in—person meeting. He also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement reached during Friday’s talks in Istanbul and delivered Trump’s message that the US is committed to achieving a lasting end to the war.
Russia is preparing its list of conditions for a possible ceasefire with Ukraine and will exchange it with Kyiv privately, Peskov said earlier Saturday, according to Russian state media.
Zelenskiy, meanwhile, again called for stronger sanctions against Moscow to force Putin toward a ceasefire.
His comments came after a Russian drone hit a minibus carrying civilians near the front lines in Ukraine’s Sumy region, killing nine people and injuring seven, according to local officials. –BLOOMBERG
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