Washington — President Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to an “immediate ceasefire on all energy and infrastructure” in Ukraine when the two spoke Tuesday in a lengthy phone call, but Russia has not agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire like Ukraine has.
Hours after the call, air raid sirens sounded and explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. The White House and the Kremlin both said they agreed to begin negotiations “immediately” to achieve a fuller ceasefire. A Russian readout of the call from the Kremlin said a key condition for working toward a resolution to the conflict “should be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv.” The White House readout did not contain that information, or Mr. Trump’s response.
“My phone conversation today with President Putin of Russia was a very good and productive one,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We agreed to an immediate ceasefire on all energy and infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a complete ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible war between Russia and Ukraine. … Many elements of a contract for peace were discussed, including the fact that thousands of soldiers are being killed, and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy would like to see it end.”
The call lasted at least 90 minutes, as indicated by the timing of White House updates, but the exact duration hasn’t been disclosed yet.
“Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war,” a White House readout of the call said. “Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace. They also stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia.The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people. … The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.”
The White House also said Mr. Trump and Putin agreed that an improved relationship between the U.S. and Russia “has a huge upside,” including “enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr. Trump has his number and can call him at any time.
“We are skeptical when it comes to trusting the Russians,” he said Tuesday. “There is no trust to Putin. That’s why I am saying we need to understand how it will work technically so that it will not depend on their desire only. That is it.”
On Monday, ahead of the call, Mr. Trump said U.S. officials are having “very serious discussions” with Russia about “land that would be kept and lost.” “You’re sort of creating the edge of a country,” he said.
Mr. Trump also said Monday that negotiations are complicated, and added that he would love to meet with Putin at some point.
Last week, delegates from the U.S. and Ukraine met in Saudi Arabia and proposed a 30-day ceasefire. While Putin said he accepted the idea for a ceasefire in principle, he did not commit to a deal and said more discussions were needed.
Jennifer Jacobs and
contributed to this report.
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