Trump to hold call with Putin

US President Donald Trump was to hold a phone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin yesterday as part of his long-running effort to end the war set off by Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

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Trump had vowed during the US election campaign to halt the conflict within a day of taking office, but his diplomatic efforts have so far yielded little progress.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine held direct negotiations in Istanbul last week for the first time in almost three years, but the talks ended without a commitment to a ceasefire.

Both sides traded insults, with Ukraine accusing Moscow of sending a “dummy” delegation of low-ranking officials.

After the negotiations, Trump announced that he would speak by phone with the Russian president in a bid to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine, which has destroyed large swathes of the country and displaced millions of people.

Trump also said he would speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Nato officials, expressing hope that a “ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war... will end”.

Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly stressed that he wants to see an end to the conflict, and has recently backed calls for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

So far, he has mainly focused on upping the pressure on Ukraine and abstained from criticising Putin.