Trump appeared to accept Putin’s demand to postpone a ceasefire until after negotiations, and there was little to indicate Russia had abandoned demands Ukraine finds unacceptable.

The president announced that “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.”

Putin recently rejected an offer by Zelenskyy to meet in-person in Turkey as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including Washington. Instead, Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul for talks, the first such direct negotiations since March 2022.