President Trump holds two-hour call with Putin ahead of speaking with Ukraine's Zelenskyy

President Trump said the tone and spirit of his two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about the war in Ukraine were "excellent," and Russia and Ukraine will "immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire."

Mr. Trump is set to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders following his call with Putin. The president also indicated Pope Leo XIV has expressed interest in hosting the negotiations. But Putin has given little indication publicly that he's eager for a ceasefire or end to the war he began. 

"Just completed my two-hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia," Mr. Trump said in a statement. "I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would know. The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent."

Mr. Trump also said Russia "wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic 'bloodbath' is over, and "there is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth." 

On Saturday, Mr. Trump said he and Putin would discuss the "bloodbath" in Ukraine. Vice President JD Vance met Sunday in Rome with Zelenskyy, their first face-to-face conversation since their explosive February Oval Office meeting.

"I don't want to get ahead of those very important conversations, but of course, you will hear directly from the president or me after those calls conclude today, so you can expect that" White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Monday morning press briefing. 

Vice President JD Vance said Monday that he spoke to Mr. Trump ahead of the call. Vance said he thinks "the president's going to say to president Putin, Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?'"

Vance said Mr. Trump is likely argue to Putin that there are "'economic benefits to thawing relations between Russia and the rest of the world, but you're not going to get those benefits.'" 

"'You keep on killing a lot of innocent people,'" Vance continued. "'So, if you're willing to stop the killing, the United States is willing to be a partner for peace.' That's been the proposal to the Russians, to the Ukrainians and frankly, to nations and other hotspots around the world." 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview that aired Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that "one of the things that could help break this log jam — perhaps the only thing that can — is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin."

Mr. Trump and Putin last spoke in March. 

Asked about the possibility of imposing secondary sanctions on Russia, Leavitt said everything is on the table. 

Monday's calls come on the heels of talks in Istanbul, attended by White House envoy Steve Wikoff. Neither Putin nor Zelenskyy attended. Mr. Trump said he didn't think Putin would attend if he wasn't there. The talks in Istanbul broke up after less than two hours, although both sides did agree to each exchange 1,000 prisoners of war, according to official delegations.