'putin doesn't want to end war in ukraine': trump tells european leaders in private conversation | report

EARLIER IN A PHONE CALL, PUTIN PROMISED TRUMP THAT RUSSIA IS “READY TO WORK WITH” UKRAINE ON A “MEMORANDUM” OUTLINING THE FRAMEWORK FOR "A POSSIBLE FUTURE PEACE TREATY".

Washington: US President Donald Trump has reportedly told European leaders in a private conversation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not in favour of ending the war in Ukraine, as

he believes that Moscow has an upper hand and is currently winning. Notably, while Trump made it clear in the private telephonic conversation that Putin does not want a ceasefire, he has

publicly maintained that the Russian President wants 'peace'.  According to a report by the Washington Post, Trump's acknowledgement came during a phone call on Monday with

several European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President

Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.  Moreover, Kyiv's European allies slapped new sanctions on Tuesday on Moscow, a day after a phone call between US President Donald

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce a breakthrough on ending the 3-year-old war in Ukraine. "We have made clear again and again that we simply expect one thing

from Russia now, namely, a ceasefire, unconditional and immediate," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in announcing the sanctions. "We welcome the fact that Ukraine is

still prepared to do this. We note with disappointment that Russia has not yet taken this decisive step, and we will have to react to this." Diplomatic efforts have seen little progress

in halting the fighting, including Monday's phone call between Trump and Putin and Friday's direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul. In the phone call,

Putin promised Trump that Russia is “ready to work with” Ukraine on a “memorandum” outlining the framework for "a possible future peace treaty". The new European Union sanctions

targeted almost 200 ships from Russia's “shadow fleet” illicitly transporting oil to skirt Western restrictions. It also imposed asset freezes and travel bans on several officials as

well as on a number of Russian companies. (With inputs from AP)