Russian president Vladimir Putin can be seen smiling and laughing when he was told that he’s running late for his highly anticipated call with President Donald Trump in a video circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for comment via email outside of business hours.
Why It Matters
The relationship between Putin and Trump has often been a focal point for global politics and their Tuesday phone call to discuss possible peace negotiations regarding Russia’s war with Ukraine was highly anticipated.
The two leaders are meant to discuss the ceasefire proposed by Washington and Kyiv. Putin said on March 13 that he agreed with the ceasefire in principle but emphasized that key terms still need to be discussed. If Russia chooses to pursue the ceasefire, it could potentially pave the way to achieve peace quickly and end the three-year war.
Putin is making Trump wait again.
They two leaders were supposed to have met already, but Putin is still at some conference. When Putin is reminded of the meeting, everyone starts laughing – they’re literally making fun of Trump and his convoy. pic.twitter.com/PWeSxTixKp
— Pekka Kallioniemi (@P_Kallioniemi) March 18, 2025
What To Know
This is not the first time that Putin has kept a U.S. official waiting. He reportedly kept Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, waiting for eight hours on March 13 as he met with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, according to Sky News. Trump refuted these reports in a post on Truth Social.
The video of Putin laughing on Tuesday was posted by Pekka Kallioniemi, a nonresident research fellow at the International Centre for Defense and Security, who wrote on X, “Putin is making Trump wait again. They two leaders were supposed to have met already, but Putin is still at some conference. When Putin is reminded of the meeting, everyone starts laughing – they’re literally making fun of Trump and his convoy.”
In the video, Putin can be seen meeting with business representatives who are members of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs congress, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the two-hour phone call with Trump, to discuss ending the war with Ukraine, was meant to start at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, and the two leaders would speak about the “further normalization of our bilateral relations,” according to the Russian state news agency RIA.
Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff, wrote on X that Trump began his phone call with Putin at 10 a.m. ET and that it was “going well, and still in progress.”
Trump told reporters on Sunday night that “A lot of work has been done over the weekend” and that “We want to see if we can end this war. Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”
When asked about possible concessions that Putin could make, Trump said that they would be talking about land and power plants.
Trump shed more light on his upcoming call with Putin in a post on Truth Social on Monday night and wrote, “Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains. Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW. I look very much forward to the call with President Putin.”
Associated Press/Kristina Kormilitsyna
What People Are Saying
Laura Rozen, a journalist, wrote on X: “Putin making Trump wait, while White House spokespeople going on TV to say how much Putin respects Trump.”
Brett Bruen, the president of the Global Situation Room, wrote on X: “Making leaders wait is an old Putin power play. But, this is a pretty brutal. Putin is publicly mocking Trump.”
Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, wrote on X: “One price of #Trump’s concessions to #Putin over past six weeks: Putin sees Trump as weak, has no problem keeping him waiting.”
What Happens Next
More details from the call were set to be released Tuesday.
