Posted on 05/17/2025 4:48:27 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to speak by phone Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders of various NATO countries, about ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump said the call with Putin will be about stopping the “bloodbath” in Ukraine.
“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,” Trump wrote Saturday in a post on his social networking site Truth Social.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed in comments to Russian media that preparations were underway for Monday’s call.
Trump’s remarks came a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire. Putin had spurned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed direct negotiations — although not at the presidential level — as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the U.S.
Also on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. During a visit to Rome, Rubio suggested that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
In Ukraine, a northeastern town declared a period of mourning after a Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from front-line areas, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said. The strike came hours after the Russian and Ukrainian delegations left Istanbul, after agreeing to what would be the biggest prisoner swap to date between the warring parties.
The talks in Istanbul on Friday broke up after less than two hours without a ceasefire, although both sides agreed on exchanging 1,000 prisoners of war...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
As long as Trump talks to Putin first, he’ll quickly figure out if he’s wasting his time with the Zelensky and the Neocons.
St Z has had many opportunities, best to just cut him out altogether and call him to sign the final agreement.
Yes indeed.
hjat twerp Zelensky is an idiot if not a moron. Not another American $ to him.
Longer war with Russia will keep Ukraine shrinking every month. But Zelensky has delusions of winning the war so he won’t stop the war. So far Ukraine has lost 4 regions.
America and Russia can make a deal without Zelensky’s approval.
America needs to end all military aid to Ukraine.
That will end the war.
“America and Russia can make a deal without Zelensky’s approval.”
Either we do just that, or we end up in World War 3.
You’re right.
Zelensky also has delusions of being a leader and a man.
With Putin there’s gotta be an offer he can’t refuse.
Zelensky-Europe’s problem.
On Monday?
“On Monday?”
Probably in a year or two as the war approaches Poland’s border. Hard to see how the Neocons would be able to avoid declaring war on Russia.
Okay. I can wait.
“Okay. I can wait.”
No need to jump into the shelter, just yet.
Actually, the Neocon strategy is to wait-out Trump and Vance (or maybe speed things up in response to Comey’s directive), so more like 2029 (assuming a Democrat or compliant Republican), which is when they’d be in position for their Napoleon-style march to Moscow (or at least to Kiev).
Putin is trying to push Trump into a corner bc he thinks Trump is a pussy, and Putin will get what he wants in the negotiations. Trump already said no boots on the ground even though the UK wants to send in Troops.
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