US President Donald Trump said he wants to quickly resume lower-level talks between Russia and Ukraine at the Vatican, with talks at the Vatican expected to begin in mid-June, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources, writes UNN.
Negotiations at the Vatican are expected to begin in mid-June
Details
During a telephone conversation with European leaders on Sunday, Trump reportedly noted that he would send US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg to the talks, which are expected to take place at the Vatican. According to one of the people informed about the telephone conversation, on Monday Trump seemed to have no obligations regarding the role of the United States.
Some Europeans insisted during the call on Monday that the result of any negotiations at the Vatican should be an unconditional ceasefire. But Trump refused again, saying he didn't like the term "unconditional". He said he had never used the term, although he had used it when calling for a 30-day ceasefire in a post on his Truth Social platform on May 8, the newspaper writes. Eventually, the Europeans reportedly agreed to abandon the adjective.
Trump privately told European leaders that Putin is not ready to end the war - WSJ22.05.25, 08:59
Additionally
Earlier, Pope Leo XIV announced the Vatican's readiness to host the next round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that negotiations at the technical level on a ceasefire in Ukraine may take place at the Vatican next week.
Prior to that, Italy supported US President Donald Trump's proposal for the Vatican to mediate in ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is considering the possibility of a high-level meeting - Ukraine, the USA, Russia, Great Britain, the EU. According to him, such a meeting could take place in Turkey, the Vatican or Switzerland.
In Istanbul on May 16, the first direct negotiations in more than three years took place between the Ukrainian delegation, headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and the Russian delegation, headed by Vladimir Medinsky, advisor to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The parties said they had reached a number of agreements, including an exchange of prisoners in the format of "1000 for 1000".