After call with Putin, Trump says Russia-Ukraine peace talks to begin immediately; Vatican ready to host

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations toward a ceasefire and an end to the ongoing war, following a two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Vatican has offered to host the talks, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The US President described the conversation with Putin as having an "excellent" tone and spirit, adding that Russia is eager to pursue large-scale trade with the United States once the conflict ends.

"There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED," Trump wrote. “Likewise, Ukraine can be a great beneficiary on Trade, in the process of rebuilding its Country.”

Trump said he informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb of the development.

"The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!" the US president said.

Putin asserted that Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum outlining a future peace accord, including principles of settlement and ceasefire timelines.

He thanked Trump for supporting the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv, which occurred last week in Turkey, the first face-to-face negotiations since March 2022.

Putin said the talks show efforts to end the war are "on the right track" but stressed Russia’s goal of addressing the "root causes" of the conflict.

"We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace," he told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The direct talks in Turkey ended after less than two hours on Friday, yielding a prisoner swap but no progress on key issues.

They agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each in what would be their biggest such swap.

Ukraine and its Western allies have pushed for an immediate, unconditional 30-day ceasefire, a condition Russia has not accepted.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhii said the Russian delegation “voiced a number of things that we deem unacceptable”.

“If you want to have serious negotiations, you have to have guns silenced,” he said.