Donald Trump has said there is “unlimited” potential in US-Russia trade after holding a two-hour call with Vladimir Putin.
The US president spoke to his Russian counterpart on Monday as part of a bid to push Russia and Ukraine towards agreeing a truce in the war.
In a Truth Social post, published shortly after the call, Mr Trump said the two countries “will immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war”.
It is unclear how this differs from negotiations that already began in Turkey on Friday.
Mr Trump continued: “Russia wants to do large-scale trade with the United States when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over, and I agree.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is unlimited.”
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Ukraine “can be a great beneficiary on trade, in the process of rebuilding its country,” he said.
The Vatican “has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations”, Mr Trump added. He signed off his post with: “Let the process begin!”
Mr Putin found the call “informative, frank and very useful”, Russian news agency RIA reported.
“A ceasefire in the situation in Ukraine for a certain period of time is possible if appropriate agreements are reached,” the Russian leader reportedly said.
US correspondent
For the war that Donald Trump said he’d solve in a day, read the war he couldn’t solve at all.
By posting on Truth Social that an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be negotiated between the two parties, the US president puts distance between himself and the deal he couldn’t seal.
The United States appears to be taking a step back from its stewardship of negotiations, as it leaves both sides to it.
The broker broken? For Trump, certainly, this has been a most intractable negotiation that he has never looked like closing.
He mentions “ceasefire” in his social media post only as a discussion for Russia and Ukraine, not as the call he made for an unconditional cessation of hostilities.
There’s no mention of the frustrations he once threatened at intensive Russian bombing, or of the sanctions he once threatened against Moscow.
Far from it, he speaks of “largescale TRADE with the United States when this bloodbath is over”.
He adds that Ukraine can be a trade beneficiary from the country’s rebuilding.
In Kyiv and allied European capitals, they were looking for strong-armed support from Washington.
European leaders had called Trump the day before he spoke to Putin to discuss sanctions and to reinforce their need for US support in steering the Russian leader towards serious engagement.
They will be making further calls to the White House to clarify where they stand now, for fear they stand alone.
Ukraine was never a pet project of Donald Trump.
In his ambitions to reshape the world order, restored relations with Russia has always been a prize as he eyes China as adversary-in-chief.
In the bigger picture, Ukraine has always been a small feature. It shows.
Discussions are ‘positive,’ says Zelenskyy
The US president spoke separately with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy and various European leaders.
At a briefing after the day’s calls had taken place, the Ukrainian PM said he told Mr Trump that Russia “might propose some particularly difficult conditions” for a ceasefire – which could be “a sign that it is the Russian side that is unwilling to end the war”.
“I think we are still discussing the very possibility of strong and severe sanctions [on Russia],” he continued. “I don’t yet have an answer to that question.”
Kyiv is considering the possibility of a meeting between “high level” teams from Ukraine, the US, Russia and some European countries, Mr Zelenskyy said, describing the talks today as “positive.”
He continued: “Such a meeting could take place in Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland. We are currently considering these three venues, as all three countries – all three venues – are neutral.”
Mr Trump commented further on his call with Mr Putin during an appearance in the White House gardens later on Monday.
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“It’s a terrible situation going on over there… hopefully we do something,” he said. “We’re trying to get that whole thing wrapped up. What a shame that it started in the first place.”
The Trump-Putin call came as Russia has continued to target Ukraine with attacks.
Moscow on Monday claimed its forces have taken two villages in Ukraine, according to state news agency RIA.
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Russia recently began pushing into the Sumy region after claiming it had ousted Kyiv’s forces from Russia’s neighbouring Kursk region.
RIA cited the defence ministry as saying Novoolenivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, and Marine, in Sumy, have now been taken by Russian forces.
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Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 112 drones over various parts of the country overnight, killing two people and leaving another 13 injured.
On Sunday, Kyiv officials said Russia had launched the largest drone attack of the war so far by firing 273 explosives into Ukraine over the course of Saturday night into the following morning.
