PARIS – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end “the madness,” calling on both sides of the conflict to list their conditions.
Trump made his comments after meeting Zelenskiy in Paris for their first face-to-face talks since Trump won last month’s U.S. election. Trump has vowed to bring about a negotiated end to the conflict, yet without providing details.
“Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness… There should be an immediate ceasefire, and negotiations should begin,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The world is waiting!” Trump added, referring to Russian President Putin.
Zelenskiy reacted to Trump’s message on Sunday, saying peace was not just a “piece of paper, but needed guarantees.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov convened a conference call with reporters to address Trump’s comments.
Peskov said Russia was open to talks, but that they had to be based on agreements reached in Istanbul in 2022 and on current realities on the battlefield where Russian forces have been pushing forward at their fastest rate since the early days of the war in 2022.
Putin has said repeatedly that a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the first weeks of the war at talks in Istanbul, which was never implemented, could serve as the basis for future talks.
