Trump hopes for ceasefire after Monday calls with Putin, Zelenskyy

President Donald Trump is hoping that separate phone calls Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make progress toward a ceasefire in the war in UkraineTrump expressed his hopes for a productive day Monday and a ceasefire in a social media post over the weekend His effort will also include calls to NATO leadersTrump has struggled to end the RussiaUkraine war that began with Russias invasion in February 2022 and that makes these conversations a serious test of his reputation as a dealmaker after having claimed he would quickly settle the conflict once he was back in the White House if not even before he took officeThe Republican president is banking on the idea that his force of personality and personal history with Putin will be enough to break any impasse over a pause in the fightingHis sensibilities are that hes got to get on the phone with President Putin and that is going to clear up some of the logjam and get us to the place that we need to get to said Trumps envoy Steve Witkoff I think its going to be a very successful callStill there are fears that Trump has an affinity for Putin that could put Ukraine at a disadvantage with any agreements engineered by the US governmentBridget Brink said she resigned last month as the US ambassador to Ukraine because the policy since the beginning of the administration was to put pressure on the victim Ukraine rather than on the aggressor RussiaBrink said the sign that she needed to depart was an Oval Office meeting in February where Trump and his team openly berated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently deferential to themI believe that peace at any price is not peace at all Brink said Its appeasement and as we know from history appeasement only leads to more warTrumps frustration about the RussiaUkraine war had been building before his post on Saturday on Truth Social about the coming calls which he said would begin with Putin at 10 am on MondayTrump said his discussion with Putin would focus on stopping the bloodbath of the warIt will also cover trade a sign that Trump might be seeking to use financial incentives to broker some kind of agreement after Russias invasion led to severe sanctions by the United States and its allies that have steadily eroded Moscows ability to growTrumps hope according to the post is that a war that should have never happened will endHis treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press that Trump had made it clear that a failure by Putin to negotiate in good faith could lead to additional sanctions against RussiaBessent suggested the sanctions that began during the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden were inadequate because they did not stop Russias oil revenues due to concerns that doing so would increase US prices The United States sought to cap Russias oil revenues while preserving the countrys petroleum exports to limit the damage from the inflation that the war producedPutin recently rejected an offer by Zelenskyy to meet in person in Turkey as an alternative to a 30day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies including WashingtonThose talks ended on Friday after less than two hours without a ceasefire in place Still both countries committed to exchange 1000 prisoners of war each with Ukraines intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov saying on Ukrainian television Saturday that the exchanges could happen as early as this weekWhile wrapping up his fourday trip to the Middle East Trump said on Friday that Putin had not gone to Turkey because Trump himself wasnt thereHe and I will meet and I think well solve it or maybe not Trump told reporters after boarding Air Force OneAt least well know And if we dont solve it itll be very interesting Trump addedZelenskyy met with Trumps vice president JD Vance and top diplomat Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Rome on Sunday as well as European leaders intensifying his efforts before the Monday callsThe Ukrainian president said on the social media site X that during his talks with the American officials they discussed the negotiations in Turkey and that the Russians sent a lowlevel delegation of nondecisionmakersHe also said he stressed that Ukraine is engaged in real diplomacy to have a ceasefireWe have also touched upon the need for sanctions against Russia bilateral trade defence cooperation battlefield situation and upcoming prisoners exchange Zelenskyy saidPressure is needed against Russia until they are eager to stop the war Zelenskyy addedThe push came as the Kremlin launched its largest drone barrage against Ukraine since the start of the fullscale invasion in 2022 firing a total of 273 exploding drones and decoys Ukraines air force said Sunday The attacks targeted the countrys Kyiv Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regionsWitkoff spoke Sunday on ABCs This Week and Brink appeared on CBSs Face the NationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or 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