Trump: Russia, Ukraine ceasefire talks to begin ‘immediately’
President Donald Trump said after a two-hour call with Vladimir Putin that peace talks would begin “immediately” between Russia and Ukraine.
After calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “crazy” in recent days and warning that he’s “playing with fire,” President Donald Trump continued to express disappointment in the Russian leader’s escalation of attacks on Ukraine while peace negotiations are ongoing.
“I’m very disappointed at what happened a couple of nights now where people were killed in the middle of what you would call a negotiation. I’m very disappointed by that,” Trump said May 28 during an Oval Office event.
Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities over the weekend, including the capital Kyiv, in the largest aerial attack of the war so far, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more, officials said.
Trump responded to the attack in a May 25 social media post declaring Putin has “gone absolutely crazy.”
The Kremlin responded by calling Trump emotional.
“This is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the Trump remarks about Putin.
Russia has continued its assault on Ukraine, prompting Trump to issue a warning May 27 on social media that Putin is “playing with fire.”
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump wrote.
Trump has tried to get both sides to agree to a ceasefire in the three-year-old war in Ukraine, and spoke for more than two hours with Putin earlier this month.
Asked May 28 if he still believes Putin wants to end the war, Trump said “I can’t tell you” but suggested the next few weeks will be revealing.
“They seem to want to do something but until the document is signed I can’t tell you, nobody can,” Trump said.
There have been growing calls for the U.S. to impose stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump said he doesn’t want to impose sanctions if he’s close to getting a deal. Sanctions could “screw it up,” he said.
Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Francesca Chambers, Reuters