On the one hand, Russia and the United States have found common ground on Ukraine
Russia is ready to declare a truce on the occasion of Victory Day celebrations, Vladimir Putin said in a telephone conversation with Donald Trump, who supported this initiative. The American president said that his representatives would continue contacts with Moscow and Kiev, and a settlement deal was already close. However, Ukraine is not showing a desire for peace, but is increasing attacks on civilian targets, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia. According to him, the conversation between the leaders of Russia and the United States indicates the finding of common ground. The heads of the international affairs committees of the State Duma and the Federation Council stressed to Izvestia that the conversation between Putin and Trump is a step towards normalizing the dialogue between Moscow and Washington.
Armistice for Victory Day
The Russian Federation is ready to declare a truce in the area of its military operation for the period of Victory Day celebrations, Vladimir Putin said, speaking by phone with Donald Trump. This was announced by Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. He clarified that the conversation took place at the suggestion of the Russian side.
—Trump actively supported this initiative, noting that the holiday marks our common victory over Nazism in World War II,— Ushakov said.
According to him, the US president also positively assessed the Easter truce recently announced by Russia. Recall that Vladimir Putin gave the order to temporarily cease fire in connection with Easter in the period from April 11 to the end of the next day. Although Kiev officially announced that it would also stop attacks, the Russian Defense Ministry reported 6,558 violations of the truce by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Kiev, in turn, accused Moscow of violations.
Ukraine is not showing a desire for peace, but is only increasing attacks on civilian targets, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for war crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.
— Now we are witnessing that on the eve of the May holidays, there is a rather serious escalation in a number of areas, namely, an increase in the number of attacks on civilian targets: attacks on administrative buildings, on passenger transport. And the number of people who have suffered from targeted terrorist actions by Kiev is increasing," the diplomat noted.
According to him, there is no reason to expect that the Ukrainian side will actively support Moscow's initiative on a truce by Victory Day.
At the same time, Russian troops are holding the strategic initiative and pushing back the enemy's positions. Kiev is resorting to openly terrorist methods, attacking purely civilian objects on Russian territory, Putin stressed in a conversation with Trump. It is important that Russia and the United States agree on who is obstructing the peace agreements.
— Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump expressed, in fact, similar assessments of the behavior of the Kiev regime led by Zelensky, who, incited by the Europeans and with their support, is pursuing a policy of prolonging the conflict, — Yuri Ushakov emphasized.
This was confirmed by Trump, who called the conversation with his Russian counterpart "very good." Disagreements between the United States and European countries over Ukraine remain, but a solution to the Ukrainian crisis will be found "relatively soon," the owner of the White House is confident.
The US president said that Ukraine had been defeated militarily. However, he then named the figure of 159 ships sunk, possibly indicating Iran's losses.
The results of the conversation between the leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States indicate that common ground has been found, Rodion Miroshnik believes. According to him, the growing mutual understanding between the mediator and one of the parties to the conflict is an important step towards a settlement.
"In any case, pressure from two sides is more likely to achieve a settlement than from only one side," the Ambassador—at—large of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
When will the negotiations on Ukraine continue
During the hour-and-a-half conversation, the leaders also discussed the continuation of the negotiation process on the Ukrainian crisis. The last meeting in the Russia–USA–Ukraine format was held in Geneva back in February. One of the reasons is that the United States authorities, including the main negotiators, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner, are preoccupied with the Middle East. Trump informed the Russian leader that his confidants would continue contacts with both Moscow and Kiev.
Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, explained to Izvestia that a conversation between the presidents of Russia and the United States is always useful in order to clarify positions and find a solution to the crisis situation in Ukraine.
— I believe that this is an absolutely correct action with a positive orientation. I hope that the Ukrainian leadership will respond appropriately, but in any case, we are, as they say, at the forefront of the process of greater mutual understanding," Karasin said regarding Russia's readiness to declare a truce by Victory Day.
The new telephone conversation between the presidents of Russia and the United States is a serious signal to the world community and a step towards normalizing the Russian—American dialogue, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia.
— The most important aspect is that the issue of the Ukrainian settlement remains a priority, despite the severity of the situation in the Persian Gulf zone. And the key point, which was reported by the assistant to the head of the Russian state, Yuri Ushakov, was that the leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States expressed similar assessments of the actions of the Kiev regime led by Zelensky, who, incited by the Europeans, is pursuing a policy of prolonging the conflict, the parliamentarian believes.
The resumption of contacts at the highest level allows us to hope that the format of negotiations that developed at the beginning of the year will be continued in one way or another, Andrei Kortunov, an expert at Valdai, said in an interview with Izvestia. It was important to confirm this right now, when the question arose of how much the American role would remain and whether Trump was so interested in Ukraine and the settlement.
— There may have been some unspoken discussions, but I think the administration's main focus was still on Latin America and the Middle East. Since Trump seems to still want Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to lead all the important negotiations, I doubt that any lower-level officials have made progress on the Ukrainian track, if such negotiations have taken place at all," former US Marine Corps Captain Matthew Ho told Izvestia.
Ivan Loshkarev, Associate Professor of Political Theory at the MGIMO Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, also sees no reason to be optimistic about the transition of the negotiation process to an active phase. In his opinion, the Trump administration is quite weakened in foreign policy issues, and the Ukrainian lobby in the United States is now experiencing an upsurge in strength. Therefore, it will be increasingly difficult for Trump to put pressure on Kiev in order to implement at least some agreements.
How is the settlement in the Middle East progressing?
During a conversation with his American counterpart, Vladimir Putin expressed his support for the US president in connection with the attempted assassination attempt on him on April 25 at the Washington Hilton Hotel during a dinner with journalists. The Russian leader strongly condemned this crime, emphasizing, in particular, the unacceptability of any form of politically motivated violence. By the way, this is the 12th telephone conversation between the two leaders since Trump took office in January 2025. They personally met in August 2025 in Alaska.
— By the way, it was mentioned that a dangerous incident occurred just before the birthday of the first lady of the United States, on April 26. Congratulations were conveyed to Melania Trump and her contribution to efforts to reunite Russian and Ukrainian children with their families was noted," said Yuri Ushakov.
He also stressed that the leaders' main focus was on the conflict in the Middle East. Vladimir Putin literally met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in St. Petersburg on April 27. The representative of Tehran informed the Russian leadership about the progress of the negotiation process with Washington. Now the Russian president has heard the US point of view.
— Vladimir Putin believes that Donald Trump's decision to extend the ceasefire regime against Iran is correct. This should give a chance to negotiations and generally help to stabilize the situation," said the assistant to the head of state.
The Russian President drew attention to the inevitable, extremely harmful consequences not only for Iran and its neighbors, but also for the entire international community if the United States and Israel resorted to violent actions. The option of a ground operation in Iran seems completely unacceptable and dangerous. The Kremlin said in a statement that Russia is determined to provide all possible assistance to diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis and offered a number of considerations aimed at resolving the differences over the Iranian nuclear program.
— Russia may well become an effective mediator in resolving the Middle East crisis by conducting multilateral contacts, including with the countries of the Persian Gulf, — says orientalist Leonid Slutsky.
Moscow is indeed capable of assuming further mediation in the name of reaching a peace agreement soon in the light of the discontent expressed by individual representatives of the collective Iranian leadership about Pakistan's complimentary attitude towards the United States, American scientist and HSE analyst Egor Toropov told Izvestia.
Said Khan, a professor at Wayne University in Detroit, believes that Putin's initiatives regarding the Middle East may influence Trump, forcing him to resist the resumption of military action against Iran. Despite his rhetoric and public statements, the US president does not seem to want to re-escalate the conflict militarily.
The President also touched upon the issue of establishing bilateral relations, which the United States is trying to link with the Ukrainian settlement. In particular, the leaders discussed great prospects for mutually beneficial projects in the economy and energy sector. Moreover, a number of large-scale initiatives in the economy are already being specifically discussed between representatives of our states, Ushakov stressed.
"The dynamics of the recovery in economic relations that began last year alone will also contribute to the political rapprochement between Russia and the United States in the form of a joint resolution of global conflicts, while Ukraine's leading role in the bilateral agenda is declining," Toropov believes.
Earlier, Izvestia wrote that American business is interested in cooperation with Russia in the energy sector, joint Arctic exploration and technology development. However, there are still many political issues to be resolved before the implementation of specific projects. The Presidents confirmed that their communication would continue, both personally and at the level of assistants and representatives.
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