Trump on talks with Putin: We made a lot of progress, but it’s a 'bloodbath'
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump again announced "a lot of progress" toward ending the war in Ukraine after a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place on May 19, according to Trump's statement during a joint press conference with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The American president recalled that the day before yesterday, he spoke with Putin for two and a half hours.
"I spoke with President Putin for two hours the day before yesterday. I think we made a lot of progress. But that's a bloodbath. 5,000 people are being killed a week... It's not our soldiers. It's Ukraine and it's Russia. But if we can save 5,000 souls, we will do it. We’re pretty good at it. But that's a bad situation," Trump said.
Trump’s conversations with Putin and Zelenskyy
On May 19, US President Donald Trump held phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He spoke with the latter twice. First, he called the Ukrainian leader, then spoke with Putin, and afterward contacted Zelenskyy again.
After the phone calls, the White House chief stated that Russia and Ukraine should start negotiations to cease hostilities and end the armed conflict.
Trump also described his phone conversation with Putin as one that made "progress" and confirmed the view that the Russian leader supposedly wants peace with Ukraine.
More details about the content of Trump’s phone conversation with Putin can be found in the RBC-Ukraine report.
