US President Donald Trump holds a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: RIA Novosti)

He said this after phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which “went well”, he said, adding that Russia and Ukraine will "immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire."

President Trump’s support for holding the talks at the Vatican followed a proposal made a few days earlier by new Pope Leo XIV. Trump said, "I think it'd be great to have it at the Vatican. Maybe it would have some extra significance. I think it would be maybe helpful. There's tremendous bitterness, anger, and I think maybe that could help some of that anger. So having it at the Vatican would be -- in Rome -- would be a very, I think it'd be a great idea."

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv after his phone call with Trump, Zelenskiy said Kyiv and its partners are considering a high-level meeting between Ukraine, Russia, the US, the EU, and Britain to end the conflict. He said the meeting could take place in Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland.

Russia hasn’t issued an official response to those statements by the US and Ukrainian President. Earlier the Kremlin said Moscow is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum for a future peace accord that would define a number of items, including the principles of settlement and the timing of a possible agreement. Russia noted, however, that its position is clear: the main thing is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis.