Trump to hold phone calls with Putin and Zelenskyy on Monday

US President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday 19 May and to have a separate conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Source: Trump on Truth Social

Details: Trump said he would speak with Putin on Monday at 10:00 (17:00 Kyiv time) to discuss efforts to end the war and trade issues.

He said he would then hold a conversation with Zelenskyy, and later, together with Zelenskyy, with "various members of NATO".

Trump expressed his hope that "it will be a productive day", a ceasefire will take place, and the war will end.

Background: 

• On 16 May, for the first time in over three years, direct talks were held in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
• Russia sent a low-level delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin.
• The Russian delegation is reported to have demanded that US representatives not attend the negotiations with Ukraine and to have put forward a number of conditions that are unacceptable to Kyiv.
• Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov said that during the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations discussed the possibility of a thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange.
• Bloomberg reported that the Russian representatives had presented several demands to the Ukrainian delegation setting out the conditions on which Moscow is ready to cease fire. These demands include Ukraine withdrawing from territories and renouncing claims for reparations.

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