US President Donald Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone about the recent drone attacks from Ukraine and other events related to Iran.
"I just finished a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The call lasted approximately an hour and 15 minutes. We discussed the Ukrainian attack on Russian planes at the airport, as well as various other attacks that have occurred on both sides. It was a good conversation, but not one that will lead to immediate peace," Trump wrote today on the Truth Social network.
During the conversation, Putin told Trump that Russia would have to respond to drone attacks from Ukraine, the US president said.
Trump also discussed Iran with Putin, he says, "and the fact that time is running out for Iran's decision regarding nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly!"
"I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons and, on that point, I believe we agreed. President Putin suggested that he would engage in talks with Iran and that he might be able to help get this over with quickly. My opinion is that Iran is slow to make a decision on this very important issue and that we will need a definitive answer very shortly," Trump wrote.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Putin to sign a ceasefire to end the fighting, as the two sides work to arrange a meeting to create a lasting peace after more than three years of war sparked by Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at a briefing in Kiev today, Zelensky said such a meeting could include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump, after two recent rounds of talks with lower-level delegations failed to make progress on stopping the war.
"We are ready to exchange views, but I think it is pointless to continue diplomatic meetings in Istanbul at a level that does not resolve anything further," Zelensky said.
"My proposal, which I believe our partners can support, is to propose a ceasefire to the Russians until the leaders meet... We are ready for such a meeting any day," he added.
Speaking at a televised government meeting, Putin clearly rejected the possibilities of a ceasefire and summit, and said Ukraine would "use" the pause to arm itself and mobilize more people for its armed forces.
Putin also accused Kiev of coordinating deadly "terrorist attacks" on bridges in border regions over the weekend. "How can we negotiate with those who rely on terror?" he added.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities claimed that Russia had "deliberately" targeted civilian infrastructure in the Sumy region, with a series of airstrikes that killed four people and wounded at least 3 others on June 20.
Zelensky's invitation to the meeting comes after talks on June 2 in Istanbul -- only the second round of direct negotiations between the two sides in more than three years -- failed to move the process forward.
The delegations exchanged concrete proposals for the framework of a peace agreement.
Ukraine has called, among other things, for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire plus the exchange of all prisoners of war, as well as the return of Ukrainian children whom Kiev claims were abducted by Russia.
The Russian proposal, meanwhile, called for international recognition of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014, as well as four Ukrainian regions that have been partially occupied by Russian forces.
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