U.S. President Donald Trump said on May 28 the U.S. would soon know whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about ending the war in Ukraine, warning that if Moscow is stalling, Washington would "respond a little bit differently."
Trump said his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is currently negotiating with Russian side, claiming he "is doing a phenomenal job."
"We're going to find out very soon. It'll take about two weeks, or week and a half,” Trump told reporters during a briefing, responding to a question on whether Putin wants to end the war.
"They seem to want to do something. But until the document is signed, I can't tell you... I'm very disappointed at what happened. A couple of nights now where people were killed in the middle of what you would call a negotiation." Trump did not clarify which document he was referring to.
Trump said he disapproved of Russia's recent missile attacks on Ukrainian cities during ongoing diplomatic efforts. "That's no good. We're not going to allow it," he said.
For three consecutive days over May 24-26, Russia launched a series of mass drone and missile attacks at Ukrainian cities.
On May 26, Russia carried out the biggest drone attack of the full-scale war, which reportedly involved 355 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys.
Trump also suggested he would be open to personally meeting both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin "if necessary."
Earlier on May 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Moscow proposed a new round of peace talks with Ukraine take place in Istanbul on June 2.
Lavrov claimed Russia is prepared to present a memorandum detailing what he called "the root causes of the crisis" — widely understood to refer to the Kremlin's longstanding demands and propaganda used to justify its 2022 invasion.
During the first round of Istanbul talks on May 16, Ukraine offered a 30-day ceasefire, a full prisoner swap, and a summit between the two presidents. Russia rejected the proposal and sent a low-level delegation instead. The only agreement reached was a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange that was concluded on May 25.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
