Putin calls Trump talks ‘frank and useful’ — what he proposes to end the Ukraine war, how Zelensky responded

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the two-hour-long call with US President Donald Trump on Monday (May 19) was “very frank” and “useful” and emphasised the need to identify the most effective pathways to "peace" amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

Putin also expressed optimism about the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine and called it a step in the right direction toward eliminating the root causes of the conflict.

What Putin said about direct talks between Russia and Ukraine?

Putin said that the two countries holding direct talks give reason to believe that they are on the right track.

“I would like to note that, on the whole, Russia's position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis. We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace.”

What Putin said about the call with Trump?

Putin said Moscow is ready to cooperate with Kyiv on drafting a memorandum for a future peace agreement. 

Putin said Trump expressed his position on the ceasefire, “and I for my part, also noted that Russia also favours a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.”

"We should simply determine the most effective ways to move towards peace," he said.

Both Putin and Trump agreed that Russia would propose a memorandum to work with the Ukrainian side on a possible future peace treaty.

"We agreed with the US President that Russia will suggest and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace treaty, which defines a number of issues, such as the principles of settlement, the terms of a possible peace agreement and so on, including a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time, if the appropriate agreements are reached," Putin added.

Reflecting on the call, Putin described it as “informative, frank and useful,” stating, "The conversation (with President Donald Trump) indeed took place and lasted more than two hours. I would like to note that it was very informative, and very frank and, overall, in my view, very useful in this regard."

Putin thanked the US President for his support for resuming peace talks, which he claimed were interrupted by Ukraine in 2022.

What Zelensky said?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is willing to pursue a “full and unconditional ceasefire”, a proposal initially put forward by Trump, while emphasising the need for Russia to demonstrate genuine commitment through concrete actions.

"I don't know the principles from the Russian side. As I understood from our dialogue with US President Trump, the Russian side wants to send us a memo on how they see the principles, and they want to see not only a ceasefire; they want some more principles," Zelensky stated.

"I really count on it that everybody is very interested in a ceasefire. Too many losses; we really want to finish this war. I'm not sure that Russia is ready, and we don't trust them. And that's what we want from them: a ceasefire, at the first step, to show that they're really ready to stop the war," he added.