STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
President Trump spoke with Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin, for more than two hours on Monday. They discussed ending the war in Ukraine, and Trump gave an account of the call.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I said, when are we going to end this, Vladimir? I've known him for a long time now. I said, when are we going to end this bloodshed, this bloodbath? It's a bloodbath.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Trump claimed some success towards peace, but Putin again resisted Trump's calls for an immediate ceasefire. Putin proposed more talks, which would take place even as the war continues.
INSKEEP: NPR's Charles Maynes has been covering all this from Moscow. Hey there, Charles.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: What did this call accomplish?
MAYNES: You know, both sides were really complimentary about the tone of the conversation itself, which Trump called excellent and Putin said was constructive and useful. But the two leaders seemed at odds about what had actually been achieved. Trump took to social media to say Russia had agreed to immediately start ceasefire talks and more importantly, in Trump's words, seek an end to the war. But in a brief statement to journalists, Putin suggested he was in no hurry.
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PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Non-English language spoken).
MAYNES: So here, Putin says he agreed with Trump to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a possible future peace deal but made clear all sorts of details needed to be worked out before they could possibly lead to a ceasefire of some defined length. And moreover, Putin again emphasized that any peace deal would still have to address what he called the root causes of the conflict. You know, that's always been Kremlin-speak for Russia's fundamental desire to control Ukraine, and Ukraine knows it.
INSKEEP: So not really changing any of the demands that Putin has had since 2022. How did Ukraine respond?
MAYNES: Well, I think it's first important to point out that Trump held talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Putin conversation and after. So Trump is certainly giving Zelenskyy time and attention. But Zelenskyy has to be sensitive to offending Trump's desire to show progress here or at least not appear to be seen as an obstacle to peace, all the more so because Trump is also suggesting new business opportunities for both Russia and Ukraine once the fighting ends. So speaking after the call, Zelenskyy repeated Ukraine's support for a full and immediate ceasefire, even as he really made clear he does not trust Putin's motives in these negotiations or Putin's blurring of the language of peace. Let's listen.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: Well, of course, Russia is Russia. They want something, but they even don't know what they want. And when they say they want something, they want everything.
INSKEEP: OK. So hard to see what the progress is, but we do have France, Germany and the U.K. - other players here - threatening more sanctions against Russia if Putin doesn't agree to an immediate ceasefire. How do they see all this?
MAYNES: Well, you know, Putin's refusal to sign to this ceasefire deal puts Europe in an odd position. You know, do you let Trump's peace efforts play out or risk undermining them with pressure on Moscow now? That said, even if Europe does choose to impose additional sanctions, Russian analysts say the Kremlin fundamentally doesn't see it as a threat. Here's Ivan Timofeev with the Russian International Affairs Council in Moscow.
IVAN TIMOFEEV: Sanctions are inflicting harm, but this harm is not critical for macroeconomic stability of Russia. And actually, further escalation of sanctions would hardly be critical as well.
MAYNES: You know, so the result, says Timofeev, is that Russia remains convinced it can simply afford to continue the conflict if or when these peace negotiations break down. So Moscow really sees little incentive to compromise here.
INSKEEP: Charles, thanks very much for breaking that down - really appreciate it.
MAYNES: Thank you, Steve.
INSKEEP: NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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