Xinhua
20 May 2025

Trump says phone call with Putin "went very well"

U.S. President Donald Trump said his telephone conversation Monday morning with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "went very well."

Trump made the remarks in a social media post after the two-hour phone call about the war in Ukraine, saying Russia and Ukraine would start a negotiation in which the conditions could only be set by the two sides themselves.

"Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War," Trump wrote. "The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of."

Trump also said he shared details of the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders, including President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Russia prepared to work on memorandum with Ukraine: Putin

Russia is ready to work on a memorandum with Ukraine, which could include a potential ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the press after his call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday.

Putin and Trump held a telephone call on Monday, during which the leaders discussed the Ukraine crisis and recent Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.

"We agreed with the President of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum regarding a possible future peace treaty," local media reported citing the Russian leader.

Putin noted that this treaty could define various aspects, "such as the principles of a settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement," and "a possible ceasefire for a certain period given the relevant agreements are reached."

Ukraine considers high-level meeting with Russia, U.S., European countries: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Ukraine is considering the possibility of holding a high-level meeting with Russia, the United States, and European countries, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

Speaking at a media briefing following his phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, Zelensky suggested that such a meeting could take place in Trkiye, the Vatican or Switzerland.

He noted that Ukraine is open to signing a bilateral memorandum with Russia that would include a ceasefire agreement.

At the same time, Zelensky emphasized that during any potential talks with Russia, Kiev would not accept conditions requiring the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from territories under Ukrainian control.

Yemen's Houthi group announces "blockade" on Israel's Haifa port

Yemen's Houthi group announced Monday that it will start a campaign of targeting the Israeli port of Haifa on the Mediterranean coast, in response to the Israeli ongoing offensive and blockade on Gaza, warning commercial ships to keep away.

"We will impose a naval blockade on the port of Haifa," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

"All companies with ships present in or heading to the port of Haifa should take into consideration the contents of this statement and what will be stated later," he said, adding that "all our measures and decisions related to the Israeli enemy will cease once the aggression on Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted."

On Sunday, the group announced that it would conduct military operations against Ben Gurion Airport and other unspecified Israeli airports within hours.

EU slashes growth forecasts over higher U.S. tariffs, uncertainty

The European Commission on Monday sharply downgraded its economic growth outlook for the European Union (EU), citing the impacts of higher U.S. tariffs and persistent uncertainty.

In its Spring 2025 Economic Forecast, the commission cut its projections for real gross domestic product growth for the 27-country bloc to 1.1 percent in 2025 and 1.5 percent in 2026, down from 1.5 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, in the Autumn 2024 Forecast.

"This represents a considerable downgrade compared to the Autumn 2024 Forecast, largely due to the impact of increased tariffs and the heightened uncertainty caused by the recent abrupt changes in U.S. trade policy and the unpredictability of the tariffs' final configuration," the commission said.

The euro area, encompassing the 20 EU countries that share the single currency, is now expected to grow by 0.9 percent in 2025 and 1.4 percent in 2026, also below earlier estimates.