US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed that the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine “must end with a lasting peace,” the White House said on Tuesday after their lengthy phone call, Anadolu reported.
“This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago through sincere and well-intentioned peace efforts. The leaders agreed that the path to peace would begin with a ceasefire in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as technical negotiations to implement a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea, a complete ceasefire, and lasting peace,” the White House said in a statement issued after the presidents’ two-hour conversation.
“These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East,” it added.
Trump and Putin also agreed on the need to improve bilateral relations, stressing that this would bring “great benefits,” including economic agreements “and geopolitical stability after peace is achieved.”
The leaders also “discussed extensively the Middle East as a potential area of cooperation in preventing future conflicts,” the White House said in a statement, just hours after Israel renewed its offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip.
“They also discussed the need to stop the spread of strategic weapons and will work with others to ensure the broadest possible implementation of this goal. Both agreed that Iran must never be in a position to destroy Israel,” the statement concluded.
Kremlin: Putin agrees to ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure
The Russian president said in a telephone conversation with his American counterpart today that he agrees to a 30-day ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and “immediately” ordered its implementation, the Kremlin said, according to Beta.
Putin “reacted positively” to the US president’s initiative and “immediately issued an appropriate order to the Russian military,” the statement said.
The Russian president has asked Trump to cut off Western aid to Ukraine.
“The Russian side raised a number of key points regarding the effective monitoring of a possible ceasefire along the entire line of contact, the need to end the forced mobilization in Ukraine, and the rearmament of the Ukrainian armed forces,” the statement said.
The Kremlin added that Putin expressed his readiness to work with the United States on “possible ways to resolve” the conflict in Ukraine.
“The Russian president said he was ready to work with his American partners to thoroughly explore possible ways to achieve a solution, which should be comprehensive, stable, and lasting,” the statement said, describing the conversation as “detailed and frank.”
According to media reports, the conversation lasted about 2.5 hours and “went well.”
