Keir Starmer shares phone call with Donald Trump ahead of US President's crunch talks with Putin
18 May 2025, 23:25 | Updated: 18 May 2025, 23:45
The Prime Minister has spoken to Donald Trump and other world leaders ahead of the US president’s call with Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Donald Trump is set to hold phone calls with both Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin on Monday as he looks to bring an end to what he describes as the "bloodbath" in Ukraine.
It comes as EU leaders are set to meet with the UK in a bid to "reset" relations with the bloc.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to leaders of the United States, Italy, France and Germany this evening.
“The leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine, and the catastrophic cost of the war to both sides.“Looking ahead to President Trump’s call with President Putin tomorrow, the leaders discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for President Putin to take peace talks seriously.
The UK's chief negotiator with the EU joins Lewis Goodall as 'reset talks' stall | Watch in full
“They also discussed the use of sanctions if Russia failed to engage seriously in a ceasefire and peace talks.
“The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.”
Taking to TruthSocial on Saturday, Donald Trump confirmed plans to speak with both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders on Monday.
Trump wrote in all caps: "HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!"
He added: "I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M. THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH' THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE.
"I WILL THEN BE SPEAKING TO PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY OF UKRAINE AND THEN, WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY, VARIOUS MEMBERS OF NATO."
Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since Putin launched his violent invasion in 2022 last week, but a ceasefire remains unlikely, with the Kremlin demanding it retains control of at least five Ukrainian regions should the war end.
Trump's announcement came just hours after a Russian attack on a civilian bus in Ukraine’s northeast Sumy region killed nine people and injured four more.
The Sumy regional head said preliminary information indicates the passenger bus was hit by a Russian Lancet drone at 06:17am local time (03:17am GMT) on Saturday morning.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy has called the attack "a deliberate killing of civilians."
Zelenskyy said on X: "There are currently seven wounded people in hospitals following a Russian drone strike on an ordinary passenger bus. The victims have suffered burns, fractures, and blast injuries."
"Tragically, nine people were killed. All the details are being verified."
In the post on X, the Ukrainian president also called for tougher sanctions on Russia, saying "without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy."
"We are expecting strong sanctions against Russia from the United States, from Europe, and from all our partners."
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on a post on X he was "appalled" by Russia's attack, "mere hours after talks in Türkiye."
