pResident Donald Trump said he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in an attempt to hold a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

"I will address Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone," Trump announced on his Truth Social Account on Saturday, May 17.

He said the subject of the call would "stop 'Bloodbath', killing more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers and trade on average every week."

Trump said he will talk separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after the call.

"Hopefully this will be a productive day, there will be a ceasefire, this very violent war, a war that will never happen, will end, and God bless us all."

Trump's announcement comes at a time when officials held direct negotiations on the pursuit of peace in Russia and Ukraine held Friday in Istanbul, Turkey. It is worth noting that neither Zelensky nor Putin appeared at the summit. After much speculation, whether the two leaders will attend a face-to-face meeting—the situation advocated by Zelensky, on condition that the temporary ceasefire would be agreed before—the two did not meet. Putin rejected Zelensky's face-to-face offer to sit down in Türkiye without accompanying the Russian delegation to Türkiye. Meanwhile, Zelensky traveled to Ankara, the capital of Türkiye, where he met with the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

To make signs of progress, the meeting of representatives of Russia and Ukraine did lead to an agreement to carry out the largest prisoner exchange for the war, each country dedicated to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war.

After the meeting, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the country's delegation, told reporters that the two countries also discussed the possibility of a ceasefire and the meeting between their respective presidents.

Europe and the United States have previously proposed a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine has accepted. But Putin refused to accept the proposal unless his list of requests was met.

The phone number between Trump and Putin has been on the card. "Nothing will happen until Putin and I get together," the U.S. president told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday.

The Kremlin responded to the comments Friday, saying communication between Trump and Putin is "extremely important" to resolve the conflict.

Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying: "In the context of Ukrainian reconciliation, the link between Putin and Trump is extremely important." "Of course, we agree with this argument. This significance is difficult to overestimate."

Although Trump promised a new era of Russia-Ukrainian relations under his second term in the White House, his first 100 days saw things start a difficult start, and tensions between Trump and Zelensky peaked. The two shared a fierce exchange in the Oval Office in February.

"You are gambling with World War III and what you do is very disrespectful to this country, which supports you far more than many people say they should have," Trump told Zelensky during a tense meeting.

The two men have since appeared to have modified their relationship and shared a brief but important, in-person sit-down – since the Oval Office clash, they were the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on April 26.

Zelensky said while sitting down that it was a "very symbolic meeting with historic potential".

"We talked about a lot of one-on-one things. Hopefully achieve results in everything we cover. Protect the lives of the people. A fulfilling and unconditional ceasefire. A reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out."

After the meeting, Trump summoned Putin via social media to express suspicion that the Russian leader wanted to end the Ukrainian war and hinted at sanctions on Russia.