US President Donald Trump told European leaders that the next round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine could take place at the Vatican, with US officials expected to participate.
Trump made the comments during a May 19 call with several European leaders following a separate phone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Wall Street Journal reported on May 21 that the talks are expected to take place in mid-June, citing unnamed sources familiar with the conversations.
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg would represent the United States at the talks.
According to the report, some European leaders pushed for the talks to lead to an “unconditional” ceasefire.
Trump reportedly objected to that wording, saying he did not like the term “unconditional,” even though he had previously used it when proposing a 30-day ceasefire. European leaders later agreed to drop the word.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on May 20 that Pope Leo XIV is willing to host the negotiations at the Vatican. However, the Kremlin said no final decision has been made on the location.
“This decision is being made by all interested parties. There has been no such decision yet,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on May 21.
According to reports from Axios and the New York Times, Trump said Putin had agreed to enter talks but that the US would not lead them during the May 19 phone call. Trump reportedly told European leaders that Russia and Ukraine must settle the war on their own.
Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg reported that Trump repeated several Kremlin talking points and seemed confident in Russia’s position. The Financial Times wrote that European leaders were “stunned” by what appeared to be an agreement between Trump and Putin.
Multiple sources familiar with the calls told the Financial Times that Trump made it clear the United States would step back from its role in the conflict, leaving it to Ukraine and Russia to negotiate a cease-fire directly.
Limited success in Istanbul
Russia and Ukraine held their first round of direct talks since 2022 last Friday, May 15, in Istanbul.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov led the Ukrainian delegation, while Russia was represented by Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister and close aide to Putin.
Medinsky, a Kremlin hawk, also headed the Russian side during the failed 2022 talks in Istanbul, the last time the two countries engaged in face-to-face talks.
Each delegation was supported by several senior officials. Kyiv said the Russian side rejected US and Turkish mediators during the talks. The US delegation talked with both sides before Friday’s talks.
While no breakthrough was achieved on the talks’ primary goal – a 30-day unconditional ceasefire – the two sides did agree to a significant exchange of prisoners of war, involving 1,000 individuals.
Both parties also indicated some progress toward arranging a potential direct meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, though officials described overall results as modest.