Putin’s midnight ultimatum: Trump forced into 15-minute deadline for late-night chat

Trump Putin late-night call: After hours of peace talks at the White House with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders, US president Donald Trump wanted to call Russian president Vladimir Putin to organize a meeting with the Zelensky on ending Russia’s war with Ukraine, as per a report. But Putin gave Trump a strict 15-minute window to make the call before going to bed as it was late night in Moscow, according to a Daily Beast report.

Vladimir Putin Set Tight 15-Minute Deadline for Donald Trump’s Late-Night Call

During an interview on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that it was very late in Moscow and Putin told Trump he could either call immediately or wait until the next day, but Trump chose to call that night, taking the opportunity within the short time frame, as per the report.

Bessent said, “Look, it was very late in Moscow,” adding, “President Putin was open to meeting with President Zelensky and as you know President Trump is very persuasive, they had just met,” as quoted by Daily Beast.


When host Laura Ingraham asked if Putin was staying up to wait for the call from Trump, Bessent responded, saying, “Well, the president gave him the option, ‘I could call or send a message’ and Putin said ‘Well, I will be up for 15 more minutes or you can call tomorrow’. And I think Putin wanted the call that night. So that showed he was eager to hear what the president had to say,” as quoted in the report.

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White House Confirms Progress Toward Peace Talks

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that during Putin's pre-bedtime phone call with Tthe US president, he agreed to “begin the next phase of the peace process—a meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky," as quoted by Daily Beast.

Possible Meeting Location: Budapest?

Trump even wrote on his social media site Truth Social that the meeting between Putin and Zelensky would happen “at a location to be determined,” as quoted in the report. While, the Washington Post pointed out the Hungarian capital Budapest could be a possible option, which would be followed by a trilateral meeting of the two presidents joined by Trump, as reported by Daily Beast.

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Russia Signals Caution on Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky Meeting Plans

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that the meeting is yet to be confirmed on Putin’s end, saying, “Any contacts involving top officials must be prepared with the utmost care,” adding, “We do not refuse any forms of work—neither bilateral nor trilateral,” as quoted in the report.

Trump Wants Putin and Zelensky to Meet Alone First

While, during an interview on The Mark Levin Show, Trump shared that he wanted Putin and Zelensky to meet on their own first to clear the air, as per the Daily Beast report. The US president said, “I thought it would be better if they met without me, just to see. I want to see what goes on,” adding, “You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now we’ll see how they do and, if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary, I’ll go and I’ll probably be able to get it closed,” as quoted in the report.

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US Envoy Highlights Early Signs of Russian Concessions

US envoy Steve Witkoff highlighted that Russia has made “concessions almost immediately” after Trump and Putin’s meeting in Alaska last week, saying, “We stayed there for quite some time because we actually made progress on how we might get to a peace deal,” as quoted in the report. Witkoff added, “The president began to sense in this meeting in Alaska that we had a lot of the precursors agreed to for a peace deal, so why not pursue an entire peace deal?” as quoted by Daily Beast.

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FAQs

Why did Putin give Trump only 15 minutes to call?
It was very late in Moscow, and Putin was about to go to bed, so he gave Trump a short window to make the call or wait until the next day, as per the Daily Beast report.

What was the main topic of Trump’s call to Putin?
Trump wanted to organize a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky to move forward with peace talks, as per the Daily Beast report.