Today at 01:03
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded a telephone conversation on 18 March.
The White House told reporters that Trump’s conversation with Putin lasted more than an hour and a half.
During the conversation, Trump and Putin discussed the US initiative to temporarily cease hostilities, which was supported by Ukraine during the talks in Saudi Arabia. The Kremlin said that Vladimir Putin agreed to the proposal and ordered the military to stop shelling Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days.
At the same time, Putin, according to the Kremlin, outlined ‘a number of essential points’ regarding the monitoring of the ceasefire along the entire contact line, and also spoke about the need to ‘stop forced mobilisation’ in Ukraine and rearm the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
During the talks, Putin announced a 175-for-175 prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia to take place on 19 March. Russia also agreed to hand over to Ukraine 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian servicemen who are being treated in Russian hospitals.
The Russian side insists that a key condition for preventing escalation and further political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict should be a complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence to Kyiv.
The White House claimed that the US president was ‘determined’ to conclude a deal to end Russia’s war against Ukraine and that the world was close to such a peace.
