Trump Says Russia Seeks ‘Largescale TRADE’ With US Once ‘Catastrophic’ Ukraine War Is Over — But Putin Isn’t Ready To End It Yet

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday afternoon that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will “immediately start,” but Russia has reportedly refused to agree to a ceasefire.

In a post on his Truth Social account, the U.S. president said a two-hour call between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin went well. “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.”

Putin refuted Trump’s comments. A Wall Street Journal report said the Russian head of state refused to sign a 30-day ceasefire and held onto the sticky points in the negotiations between the two warring neighbors.

Politico reported last week that Putin reneged on his offer to travel to Turkey to begin negotiations with his Ukrainian counterpart, who had imposed a 30-day ceasefire as a precondition for talks.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in 2014 and escalated significantly in February 2022, developing into a full-scale war. Russia invaded its smaller neighbor on the premise that it wants to protect people in “occupied areas” of eastern Ukraine.

Trump went on to add in his Monday post that the conditions will be negotiated between the two parties, given that they are the only ones who know the details of the terms.

“The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now,” he added.

Putin’s intransigence led Trump to focus on the economic angle, 

Trump said Russia wants to do “large-scale TRADE” with the U.S. when this "catastrophic bloodbath” is over. The president sees tremendous opportunity for Russia to create “massive amounts of jobs and wealth,” adding that the country’s “potential is unlimited.”

Likewise, the president opined that Ukraine can benefit primarily from the post-war rebuilding process.

Trump said he had shared details of his call with Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and other European leaders. He also said the Vatican “would be very interested in hosting the negotiations.”

Zelenskyy later said in a post on X that he spoke with Trump twice, once before the call with Putin and again after the call. He also said he has asked the U.S. and European leaders to take more actions, including further sanctions, if Putin puts forward unrealistic demands and continues to drag the war.

Crude oil futures climbed for two straight sessions amid hopes of a truce between Russia, an OPEC+ member and one of the world’s biggest oil producers, and Ukraine, and a possible U.S.-Iran nuclear deal. Following the Trump-Putin talks, oil has given back some ground.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the broader S&P 500 index, has gained 1.8% for the year.

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