MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
President Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin today and claimed he had made real progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's a terrible situation going on over there. Five thousand young people every single week are being killed. So hopefully, we did something.
KELLY: President Trump has been calling for a ceasefire. President Putin suggested there was still more work to do. Trump also spoke with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and with the leaders of major European countries. Joining me now to talk through this is NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Hey, Charles.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Hey. So a day of a whole lot of telephone diplomacy by Trump. Start with the call between Trump and Putin. That one was so highly anticipated. What did we learn?
MAYNES: Yeah, you know, Trump and Putin spoke for just over two hours by phone. Putin was the first to give his take, calling the conversation useful, constructive, substantive. But for all those pleasantries, it was clear Putin hadn't agreed to the ceasefire Trump was after. Let's listen.
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PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So here, Putin says that Russia's for a peaceful settlement to the Ukraine crisis, but he adds we should determine the most effective path towards that peace. And he later spoke of establishing principles of a settlement, the timing of a peace agreement, among other details.
KELLY: OK, so not exactly signing on to an imminent ceasefire then. It's almost like (laughter) I can hear the can clinking as these two kick it down the road. What was the Trump readout?
MAYNES: Well, like Putin, Trump was complimentary about the tone and spirit of the exchange, calling it excellent. But he was actually effusive about the results. In a post to social media, Trump said that Russia and Ukraine would immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire and ending the war. He added the details would be negotiated directly between the two sides, quote, "as it can only be." Trump also said he'd informed key players, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European partners about this and suggested the Vatican may even host future negotiations, ending his post with, let the process begin - exclamation point.
KELLY: So it sounds like the American readout is certainly the more positive of the two, but square that with the fact that it's - the Trump administration has been suggesting they might walk if there isn't progress and fast.
MAYNES: Exactly. But now it seems like Trump is suggesting he might distance the U.S. from negotiations because of this progress that he claims is going so well. That said, Trump also made clear he had no intention of walking away from other deals with Russia. For one, Putin's adviser later told journalists Trump and Putin had agreed to exchange nine prisoners from each side. That's nine Americans arrested for low-level crimes possibly coming home from Russian jails.
Meanwhile, Trump talked up the tremendous opportunities in Russia for business, calling the potential unlimited. And he said Ukraine could also benefit from trade as it rebuilds. Of course, Of course, detractors of the deal aren't quite so sure.
KELLY: Charles, catch us up on another point - Europe. The Europeans have been threatening new sanctions against Russia if Putin didn't sign up to an immediate ceasefire. Do we know what happens to those?
MAYNES: Well, I assume they'll have to decide whether to give Russia more time to negotiate or not. Either way, the Kremlin's projecting confidence that it can weather new penalties and that time is on its side on the battlefield.
KELLY: And last thing - Ukraine. What is the Ukrainian take on all of this?
MAYNES: Well, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine took to social media to give his readout of the talk with Trump. He reaffirmed that Ukraine was ready for a ceasefire, but it said it was important not to dilute that proposal. The challenge for Zelenskyy is now avoiding any appearance of being seen by Trump as the greater obstacle not only to peace but to other deals the American president clearly wants with the Kremlin.
KELLY: NPR's Charles Maynes from Moscow. Thank you, Charles.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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