Trump told the leaders that Putin agreed to start direct negotiations on a ceasefire immediately. A source on the call said there were a few seconds of puzzled silence. Zelensky then pointed out that Putin had previously agreed to negotiate, and the first round of ceasefire talks took place on Friday in Istanbul. Trump didn't directly respond, the sources said. The sources said Zelensky and several other leaders on the call told Trump it had been his idea to start the peace talks with an immediate 30-day ceasefire.
[...]
Other European leaders on the call asked about the possibility of U.S. sanctions against Russia, but Trump said he didn't think was a good idea and stressed that he thought Putin wanted a deal. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni jumped in to ask why there couldn't be a ceasefire for at least two weeks heading into the talks, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked what concessions Russia was willing to make, the sources said. Trump told the group Putin would present a "peace memo" with his terms for a ceasefire and for ending the war. A source on the call said Trump told Zelensky and the European leaders he asked Putin to present "something people can agree to" and not a proposal that will be rejected immediately. Zelensky said previous rounds of negotiations with Putin, including last week, didn't produce anything and stressed that if Trump doesn't push, Putin won't move, the sources said. The White House official said that for months Russia had refused to present a document with its vision of how to end the war and the fact Putin agreed to do it was a significant step forward.
Deutsch:
Eine Nachrichtenseite berichtet über ein Telefongespräch zwischen dem US-Präsidenten und europäischen Staatschefs. Mit einer Bemerkung zu Putin soll Trump dabei für große Irritation gesorgt haben.
www.tagesspiegel.de