President Trump offered some candid insights Monday afternoon into the ramped up efforts by his administration to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

Speaking from the Oval Office following an event in which he awarded the first-ever Medals of Sacrifice to the families of three fallen Florida police officers, the president had harsh words for the previous administration and Europe, stating the ongoing conflict was a "bloodbath." He also welcomed the idea of the Vatican being involved in bringing about a peaceful and lasting solution to the bloodshed.

As RedState's Ward Clark reported earlier Monday, the president held a marathon phone call with Vladimir Putin and several European heads of states in order to push Russia towards a ceasefire in the years-long war between the two nations. Here's some of Ward's recap:

President Trump reports:

Just completed my two hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. 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. The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later. Russia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic “bloodbath” is over, and I agree. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth.

Trump expanded on that phone call during his Oval Office remarks, telling the assembled press corps that he would step back from negotiations if he thought a deal wasn't possible. "My whole life is deals," said Trump. "One big deal."

On whether or not a deal would happen if Trump and Putin didn't meet in person to hammer things out, the president responded, "I think something will happen. Big egos involved, I tell you. But, I think something is going to happen. And if it doesn't, I just back away and they have to keep going."

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The "they" he's referring to is not only the primary players of Russia and Ukraine, but also the European states that failed to take action when trouble was brewing in their backyards. 

Again, this was a European situation. It should've remained a European situation. Because the past administration felt very strongly that we should be involved and we got involved much more than Europe did.

As for what the president told Putin during their call, Trump kept it simple: "We have to get that thing solved. Five thousand young people every single week, on average [being killed]. And I've seen the satellite pictures ... you don't want to see these pictures. This was not my war. This wouldn't have happened if I was president. I'm just here to try and help."

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Trump has often spoken of his alarm and sadness at seeing satellite images that show the human toll of the raging conflict. 

The ace in President Trump's pocket right now seems to be the newly-inaugurated Pope Leo XIV, the first-ever American-born pontiff. Soon after being elected by the College of Cardinals, the pope hinted that he'd like a role in bringing peace to conflict-ridden areas of the world.

The Holy See is willing to help enemies meet, so they may look each other in the eye and so people may be given back the dignity they deserve: the dignity of peace. With heart in hand, I say to the leaders of nations: let us meet; let us dialogue; let us negotiate!

— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) May 14, 2025

And the president is all-in on that idea.

I think it would be great to have [peace talks] at the Vatican. Maybe it would be able to have some extra significance. So, this was discussed yesterday. And people told me they would be honored to do it. I imagine they would be. 

I think it would be, maybe, helpful. There's tremendous bitterness. Anger. And I think that could help some of that anger, so having at the Vatican, in Rome, would be very — I think it would be a great idea.

Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenksy famously met in the Vatican's St. Peter Basilica when both were in Rome in late April for the funeral of Pope Francis. And the Vatican was once again the backdrop for global diplomacy this past weekend when Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were in Rome for the inaugural Mass of the new pope and used the occasion to meet in person with Zelensky. 

It certainly seems as if the stage is being set for Pope Leo and the Vatican to have a role in bringing about a peaceful and lasting resolution to the "bloodbath."

And President Trump is doing his part to encourage all of the parties involved, saying, "If I thought you couldn't do it, I'd step away."

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