In a dramatic turn of diplomatic events, US President Donald Trump has announced that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will commence “immediately” following a lengthy phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The high-stakes call, held on May 19 and lasting over two hours, centered on finding a pathway toward ending the ongoing war in Ukraine. Both leaders described the exchange as productive, with Trump calling it “excellent in tone and spirit” and Putin labeling it “frank” and “very useful.”

The call marks the first direct communication between the two presidents since Trump’s return to the Oval Office and signals a potentially significant shift in the trajectory of the Ukraine conflict, which has raged for over two years with massive casualties, displacement, and global ramifications. The US president, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, confirmed that the talks had produced a strong foundation for launching ceasefire negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.

“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump declared. He emphasized that the specific terms of the agreement must be crafted directly between the two nations, as only they possess the intricate knowledge necessary for meaningful progress. “The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be,” he said.

Trump’s statement suggests a hands-off approach to the minutiae of the negotiations, favoring bilateral dialogue over third-party mediation. Yet the announcement itself has significant........

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