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Trump tells EU leaders US won’t impose new sanctions on Russia — report

According to Axios, the US president expressed confidence that Russia "wants a deal"

WASHINGTON, May 20. /TASS/. After talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his US counterpart Donald Trump told EU leaders and Vladimir Zelensky that US won’t impose sanctions on Russia now, as he believes Moscow is determined to reach a settlement for Ukraine, Axios reported, citing people who were on the call.

According to the report, Trump expressed confidence that Russia "wants a deal." He said the country agreed to immediately start direct talks to achieve a ceasefire.

Some leaders on the call seemed "surprised" or "shocked" by Trump’s statements and his deference to Putin, the sources told Axios.

According to the news website, European leaders went into a conference call with Trump hoping to hear that Russia had agreed to a ceasefire, or that the US would impose penalties on Russia for refusing to do so.

A source told Axios that Zelensky felt the call was "bad." In addition to the head of the Kiev regime, attending the call were French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stepped in to "ask why there couldn't be a ceasefire for at least two weeks heading into the talks." She and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US and European countries need to be involved in the negotiations.

"Someone needs to be a judge," Meloni said, according to a source.

Merz proposed holding a meeting with all the parties present.

Trump said the US will not be involve in the talks. He told the group Russia will present a "peace memo" with his terms for a ceasefire and for ending the conflict. Trump also said he asked Putin to present "something people can agree to" and not a proposal that will be rejected immediately, Axios reported.

On May 19, the Russian and US presidents held phone talks that lasted more than two hours. According to Putin, it was informative and frank. It was the third time the leaders have spoken since the start of the year. As the Russian head of state said, Moscow is ready to work with Kiev on a memorandum on a future peace treaty, which, among other things, could include the issues of a ceasefire and principles of conflict settlement.

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