by Rebecca Schneid , Olivia-Anne Cleary and Callum Sutherland
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke for two hours on Monday in what the U.S. President described as an "excellent" conversation, announcing that Russia and Ukraine would immediately begin negotiations toward a ceasefire.

The call followed Trump's recent public appeal to Putin to "stop the bloodbath" and end what he described as a violent and devastating conflict.

Shortly after speaking with the Russian President, Trump said he had informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as several European leaders and Pope Leo, of the planned talks. He also noted that the Vatican had expressed interest in hosting future negotiations.

“The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent,” Mr Trump wrote on social media. “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war.”

Following the call, Russian state media reported that the Russian President expressed openness to a ceasefire.

"Russia is ready to work with Kyiv on a memorandum on future peace talks. A ceasefire with Ukraine is possible once agreements are reached," TASS quoted Putin as saying.

Putin also described the conversation with Trump as “very informative and quite a frank discussion.” He added, “The U.S. president voiced his position on a ceasefire. For my part, I noted that Russia, too, favors a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. We must determine the most effective ways of moving towards peace.”

Putting the end to the war in Ukraine has been a core aspect of Trump’s presidency so far. The President signed a deal on May 1 in which Ukraine would hand over half of its future oil, gas, and minerals wealth to the U.S. in return for American investment and economic assistance.

Ahead of the calls this morning, Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters: "I think the president is going to say to President Putin, look, 'Are you serious? Are you real about this?'"

Vance added that the U.S. is “more than open to walking away” from ongoing peace talks. “We want to see outcomes,” he added.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump “has grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict,” and will be pushing for an end to the ongoing war.

When asked if Trump would be meeting with Putin in the near future, Leavitt responded: “The president would certainly be open to that."

Overnight on Saturday, leading into Sunday morning, Ukrainian officials reported that Russia had launched its most intense drone attack against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.