The presidents of the USA and Russia are talking about ending the war in Ukraine.

Following his phone call with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump is trying to raise hopes for an imminent ceasefire. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is "a bloodbath," Trump said, "and I believe he (Putin) wants to end it." The Republican also promised immediate negotiations in the Vatican on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. However, Trump did not provide any details and was once again criticized for not exerting sufficient pressure on Moscow in his peace efforts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that he rejects possible Russian conditions for a ceasefire, such as the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from annexed territories within his own country. "If Russia makes it a condition that our troops withdraw from our country, it means they don't want a ceasefire and an end to the war," Zelensky said in Kyiv. The constitutional function of the Ukrainian army is to protect its own territory. "No one will withdraw our troops from our territory."

The Kremlin has repeatedly emphasized that, in peace talks, it insists on a complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four regions only partially controlled by Russia: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. Ukraine has been resisting the Russian invasion for more than three years with Western support. However, Kyiv and its European allies fear that the US government could end its assistance and withdraw from the peace efforts.

Trump and Putin spoke on the phone for about two hours on Monday. "Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately," Trump announced afterward. Regarding efforts to end the war, he said at the White House: "I think we have a good chance of doing that. I think Putin wants that." He said he wouldn't seek a peace solution if he didn't believe in it.

However, there are doubts about this portrayal. In a telephone call with European heads of state and government following the conversation with Putin, they got the impression that the US president was unwilling to force the Kremlin chief to the negotiating table through increased pressure, according to the Financial Times, citing a source familiar with the conversation. According to the source, Trump also did not suggest further sanctions against Russia for the time being. According to the US broadcaster CNN, he explained this to reporters by arguing that there is an opportunity to make progress in the efforts at this stage.

The EU's 17th sanctions package is expected to be adopted in Brussels on Tuesday. "Europe's (sanctions) package will come, and it will be strong," Zelenskyy said. Agreements and data have already been reached. He also expects another sanctions package if the Russian side is unwilling to cease hostilities. He also hopes for new punitive measures from the US – which, according to the Financial Times, are unlikely to happen for the time being.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wrote on X that Europe and the US wanted to "closely support Ukraine on its path to a ceasefire." "Europe will increase pressure on Moscow through sanctions"—this was agreed upon with the US President after his telephone conversation with Putin.

Although Western states have imposed economic and financial coercive measures against Russia in several stages since the beginning of the war, the Kremlin has continued the war unabated. Thanks to the booming arms industry, the Russian economy is experiencing higher growth rates than those of EU countries.

After the talks, Putin said Russia was ready to work on a memorandum with Ukraine that would include a ceasefire. Moscow wants to end the hostilities, but the most effective path to peace must be found. To achieve this, Putin said, Kyiv and Moscow would have to make compromises that are fair to all sides. He did not specify what he envisioned these compromises should look like. Zelenskyy said he now awaited details on the memorandum Putin mentioned.

According to the Russian news agency Tass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that there was no timeframe for the drafting of the memorandum. "There are no deadlines and there can be none," he said. It was clear that everyone wanted to move forward as quickly as possible, but "the devil is in the details." Peskov further stated that the venue for new contacts with Kyiv had not been determined, even though the Kremlin was aware of the Vatican proposal.

Rüdiger von Fritsch, German ambassador to Russia from 2014 to 2019, viewed the telephone conversation between the two presidents as a point win for Putin. "Based on everything we know so far, we cannot see that Russia has moved in any way, and that, and this seems even more important to me, it sees any reason to have to move in the future," von Fritsch said on ARD's "Tagesthemen" program.

Putin knows that Trump is willing to sacrifice much to end the conflict – including Ukraine's interests. It's also noteworthy that Trump has "once again" spoken about future US-Russian trade relations. "He sees the dollar signs in Trump's eyes," von Fritsch said of the Kremlin chief, who is exploiting the US president's greed for profit.

During their phone call, Putin and Trump also discussed a possible face-to-face meeting again, according to the Kremlin. "Both presidents are interested in such a meeting. But both presidents are also interested in ensuring that this meeting is not empty but results-oriented," said Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Last week, Trump said he did not expect any real progress in the Ukraine talks before a face-to-face meeting with Putin.

Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine last took place on Friday in Turkey – for the first time in three years. Both sides agreed to a major prisoner exchange. However, the major breakthrough failed – partly because Putin was absent from the meeting he himself had proposed. No agreement was reached on the issue of a ceasefire.

Zelenskyy expressed openness to further talks between senior negotiators from the US, Ukraine, Russia, and European countries. Such meetings could take place in Turkey or Switzerland—or even in the Vatican.