Trump And Putin Call Wraps Up
BBC News
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Trump And Putin Call Wraps Up
BBC News
US President Donald Trump's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ends after more than two hours, a White House official says
Earlier, the US president said he hoped to focus the call on ending the "bloodbath" in Ukraine
For Trump, who has grown visibly exasperated with President Putin in recent months, this is a high-stakes call, writes BBC's Bernd Debusmann Jr from the White House
Unless the US president comes up with new levers of pressure on Russia, Putin has little to worry about, BBC's Vitaliy Shevchenko writes
Trump is expected to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders from some Nato countries
Ukrainian and Russian delegations failed to reach any deal during face-to-face talks in Istanbul on Friday
Edited by Matt Spivey, with Bernd Debusmann Jr reporting from the White House
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
Some more now from Putin, who has been speaking following his call with Trump.
"Contacts between participants in the Istanbul talks have resumed, which gives reason to believe that on the whole we're on the right track," Putin adds.
We're yet to hear from the US president, stay with us for all the latest developments.Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
There's no indication of a massive shift in Russia’s position as Putin yet again says the “root causes of the crisis” must be addressed – the reasons why Russia invaded Ukraine in the first place.
However, he raises the prospect of a joint “memorandum” with Ukraine, paving the way to a ceasefire and ultimately a peace deal with Ukraine, although the possible conditions in any of these documents remain as unclear as ever.
Another takeaway is that, according to Putin, the Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have continued contacts after the inconclusive talks in Istanbul.
After his lead negotiator in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, Vladimir Putin also suggested that Russia is prepared to discuss “compromises” – but there’s no clarity on what they may be.Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
We can bring you some more now from Putin, who is quoted by Russian state media as saying "that Russia will offer and is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a possible future peace agreement".
Russian state media agency Tass says this would also entail "a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time, should relevant agreements be reached".Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
Vladimir Putin chairing a meeting in Moscow earlier this month
We're now hearing reports from Russian state media that Vladimir Putin has made comments following his phone call with US President Trump:
“It was a very informative and quite a frank conversation, and very useful in this respect. First of all, I thanked the US president for US support in resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on a possible peace agreement.
“The US president voiced his position on a ceasefire. For my part, I noted that Russia, too, favours a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. We simply must determine the most effective ways of moving towards peace.”
We're now getting confirmation from a White House official that the call between Trump and Putin has come to an end, according to Reuters.
As we wait to learn more about the outcome of their discussion here's a look back at the high-stakes call for Trump, and what Putin might have to worry about.
We're hearing now that the phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has ended, according to Russian state media Tass.
The BBC are working to confirm this and we'll bring you the latest developments as we get them.
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent
European Council President Antonio Costa wearing a light grey suit, white shirt, and violet tie
Speaking before today’s call began, Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, said the EU was “waiting with anxiety” for the outcome.
“I wish all the best for this call between President Trump and President Putin,” he said, during his joint news conference with UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer, and Ursula von der Leyen.
Costa made it clear what Europe expects from the exchange. An unconditional, immediate ceasefire, he said, was “essential".
Donald Trump’s interventions so far have injected huge amounts of uncertainty among European leaders.
They’ll be waiting nervously for some sign that the American president is willing to exert more pressure on Vladimir Putin than he has so far seemed willing to countenance.
Donald Trump’s ambivalence towards the war in Ukraine hung over today’s summit in London and the unveiling of a new UK-EU Security and Defence Pact.
The war, and Trump’s disruptive return to the White House, have been two major drivers of moves to enhance cooperation between London and Brussels.
More than three years on since Russia's full-scale invasion in Ukraine, fighting rages on. Both Ukraine and Russia have reported attempted drone strikes and shelling.
Overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry , externalsaid it destroyed one Ukrainian drone in the Belgorod region, with another 34 drones destroyed in Crimea and western Russia’s Bryansk region. Officials say one woman in Belgorod was killed.
In the last hour, Ukraine's armed forces report casualties following a Russian airstrike on Kramatorsk in the country's Donetsk region. Earlier, they also reported "large-scale fires caused by Russian strikes" in the village of Staryi Saltiv, Kharkiv – there were no casualties.
In Kharkiv, firefighters work to extinguish flames following strikes on a residential area
On a broader scope, Moscow controls approximately 20% of Ukraine's territory, including the southern Crimea peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.
Ukrainian military chiefs say assaults on the frontline have risen by up to 30% in recent weeks.
Russia’s Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin says 621 civilians have been killed since Moscow's full-scale invasion, reported on Monday by Moscow Times. 
Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor
Russian state TV reports that Vladimir Putin is holding his telephone call with Donald Trump at a music school in the southern Russian resort city of Sochi.
President Putin is visiting a local education centre there today.
Right now, the two main TV channels in Russia are discussing the Putin-Trump call in their evening political talk shows.Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
Putin has consistently demonstrated his continued determination to continue attacking Ukraine rather than engage in meaningful peace talks.
He’s shown nothing but disdain for the peace process: ahead of the Istanbul meeting last week, he kept everyone guessing until the very last moment about who he’s going to send, and that turned out to be an insultingly low-level delegation.
The West has given Putin little reason to even start thinking about ceasing fire.
He is emboldened by Trump’s friendly rhetoric and actions, and by all the pressure the US president has put on Ukraine, rather than Russia.
And when it comes to Ukraine’s European allies, it’s been a week since the 12 May deadline set by the so-called coalition of the willing for Russia to cease fire or face crippling sanctions.
The deadline came and went, and there have been no consequences. So what is the coalition of the willing actually willing and able to do?
This may be high-stakes for Trump and Ukraine, but unless the US president comes up with new levers of pressure, Putin has little to worry about.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
This is an extremely high-stakes call for President Trump, who has made ending the fighting in Ukraine one of the most important foreign policy priorities of his administration.
So far, Trump's been unable to make any progress, and his frustration seemed to boil over into outright anger during his February Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.
In the months since then, however, Trump – who was once seemingly reluctant to criticise the Kremlin – has grown visibly exasperated with President Putin.
Just a month ago, for example, Trump took to Truth Social to "STOP", and more recently told reporters on Air Force One that he is considering secondary sanctions if necessary.
Administration officials have expressed optimism about today's call. But if Trump feels he is being taken advantage or believes that Putin is stalling, it could mark the beginning of a period in which we are likely to see more forcible language and actions from the White House.
Trump and others – notably JD Vance – have also suggested that the US could walk away from the peace efforts entirely if neither side is willing to come to a compromise.
That, however, would almost certainly be seen as a defeat for an administration which has repeatedly vowed to bring an end to the bloodshed.Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
The phone call between President Trump and President Putin has begun, the White House has confirmed to the BBC.
Donald Trump's call with Vladimir Putin is under way, news agency Reuters reports citing a White House official.
We'll bring you the details of this call when we get them.
Orla Guerin
Senior international correspondent, reporting from Istanbul
There was a small step forwards in diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine on Friday, as representatives from the two countries met in person for the first time since March 2022.
Despite this, there was no breakthrough on the issue of a truce, and the only agreement between the sides was for each to return 1,000 prisoners of war to the other.
Ukraine's deputy foreign affairs minister Serhiy Kyslytsya said the hostage swap was a "very good end to a very difficult day", while defence minister Rustem Umerov suggested the "next step" should be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin".
Meanwhile, Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky said the Russian delegation were satisfied with the talks and ready to continue contact.Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
We're taking a look back at what was a relatively short briefing from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Her remarks about the Trump-Putin call were brief, and sparse on details about what the President is expected to discuss.
Leavitt's non-committal responses could be seen, partly, as a bid to avoid boxing the White House into a corner and to allow flexibility for Trump within the call.
Trump, after all, has been vowing to end the fighting in Ukraine for months now.
In February, for example, Trump and various administration officials said they believed a ceasefire could be in-place and the fighting stopped within several weeks.
That never materialised, and fighting has continued – putting the administration in the awkward place of having to "walk back" their own previous comments.
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White House: Trump is 'weary and frustrated' with Russia and Ukraine
As we've just reported, the White House says talks between JD Vance and Zelensky were "productive", we've been hearing from the US vice-president himself on board Air Force Two.
Ahead of Trump's upcoming call with Putin, US Vice President JD Vance has said that Washington recognises there is an "impasse" over talks regarding the war in Ukraine.
"I think the president's going to say to President Putin: 'Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?'" Vance told reporters aboard Air Force Two, as he prepared to depart Italy.
"Putin does not seem to quite know how to get out of the Ukraine war," Vance said, adding that if Russia is not willing to move beyond mistakes made in the past, eventually the US has to say "this is not our war".
"It's Joe Biden's war, it's Vladimir Putin's war. It's not our war. We're gonna try to end it, but if we can end it, we're eventually gonna say, You know what? That was worth a try, but we're not doing anymore."
Leavitt is now asked about US Vice-President JD Vance's meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
She says the meeting was "good" and "productive".
Vance has also met Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican – we have more on their talks in our news story.
During the briefing, Leavitt confirms that Vance also passed on an invite from Trump for the Pope to attend the White House.
With that, Leavitt wraps up ahead of the president's call with Putin. Stay with us for the key developments.Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
Trump's goal for today's call is "to see a ceasefire", Karoline Leavitt says.
She adds that the president has "grown very frustrated with both sides of the conflict".
Asked if Trump hopes to arrange an in-person meeting with his Russian counterpart, Leavitt said that the "president would certainly be open to that."
The press secretary added that "everything is on the table" in the future, including potentially secondary sanctions.
Echoing frequent comments from Trump, Leavitt has also claimed – without providing any evidence – that the war would not have started if Trump had been in the White House in 2022. Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
A short briefing from Leavitt on Trump's "big, beautiful" budget bill leads into questions from the media, and attention turns to Trump's call with Putin.
When asked if Americans can expect "to be done financing international wars", Leavitt says Trump is "working overtime" to try and bring peace.
She shares little in terms of what the two presidents will discuss, saying only that she did not want to "get ahead" of the call.
Leavitt confirms that following the Trump-Putin phone call there will be a statement either from the White House or from the US president himself.
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