U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have spoken on the phone for more than two hours amid efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine.

Russian state media quote Putin as saying his country is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum that establishes a ceasefire.

Both presidents emphasised that their two-hour conversation went well. Trump said the “tone and spirit” of the talks were “excellent”. Putin described the call as “informative” and “frank”.

European and U.S. leaders have welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s readiness to host Russia-Ukraine talks at the Vatican, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday.

Meloni’s office confirmed that European leaders, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz, spoke to Donald Trump after he his call with Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, the U.S. vice president met with Pope Leo XIV and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and International organisations.

“The Vice President and Archbishop Gallagher discussed religious freedom, the persecution of Christians around the world, and the shared commitment of President Trump and Pope Leo XIV to stop the killing in Ukraine and the Middle East,” the White House said in a statement.

The readout did not include details of Vance’s meeting with the pope.

The statement was released shortly before Trump suggested that the Vatican could host talks between Russia and Ukraine.