Prahaar samachar – May 18, 2025
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in a bid to help end the war in Ukraine. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the call would focus on halting the ongoing bloodshed—claiming that over 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are dying each week—as well as discussing trade relations. This announcement follows rare, direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Turkey on Friday. It marked the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries in nearly three years. While no breakthrough was achieved, they did agree on a major prisoner swap involving 1,000 detainees. Trump emphasized that real progress in peace efforts won’t occur until he and Putin speak directly.
“Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together,” Trump told reporters earlier this week during a trip to the Middle East. He also suggested that Putin declined to attend the Turkey talks because Trump wasn’t going to be there either. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had initially resisted attending the Turkey meeting, saying he would only go if Putin did. Although Putin sent a delegation, Zelensky labeled it as “low level” and sent Ukrainian representatives instead. Trump said he plans to call President Zelensky and NATO leaders after his conversation with Putin.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday. According to a State Department spokesperson, Rubio reiterated the United States’ commitment to ending the conflict.
