Putin Outlines Ukraine Peace Terms After Trump Urges End to ‘Bloodbath’
May 18, 2025
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first statement on Russia’s terms for a Ukraine peace agreement since President Donald Trump’s weekend post calling for an end to the “bloodbath.”
Why It Matters
It comes after direct peace talks between the two nations on Friday regarding Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, a conflict now ongoing for over three years.
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said he would bring an end to the war within a day of taking office.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 14, 2025. Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 14, 2025. Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
What To Know
Putin said Russia’s goal is to remove what he called the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine and create conditions for lasting peace, according to the RBC news agency.
“This result is the elimination of the causes that caused this crisis, the creation of conditions for long-term, sustainable peace and ensuring the security of the Russian state, ensuring the interests of our people in those territories that we always talk about, where people live who consider Russian their native language and consider Russia their homeland,” Putin said, per the outlet.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump laid out a schedule for calls with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine next week, aiming to urge them toward a final agreement to end the conflict.
A day earlier both sides met in Istanbul for talks. No ceasefire deal was reached by the end of the talks, which lasted less than two hours, but a prisoner swap was agreed, The Associated Press reported.
Both parties agreed to exchange detailed ceasefire proposals, with Ukraine requesting a leaders’ summit—an idea Russia took under consideration, the outlet said.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social Post on Saturday: “I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10 a.m. the subjects of the call will be, stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade,”
He continued: “I will then be speaking to President Zelensky of Ukraine and then…various members of NATO. Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all!!!”
What Happens Next
In a Saturday post on X, formerly Twitter, Zelensky urged the global community to keep up pressure on Moscow, renewing his call for sanctions if Putin does not pursue genuine diplomatic efforts.
“Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy,” Zelensky wrote.
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