1 day ago
Last Updated:March 18, 2025, 22:22 IST
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed the US-backed 30-day truce proposal to halt the Ukraine war which entered its fourth year in 2025.
President Trump with Russian Counterpart Putin (Reuters/File)
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a telephone call on Tuesday to discuss the proposed 30-day truce in the ongoing Ukraine war which has entered its fourth year. Russian state-run news agencies said that the call lasted for over two-and-a-half hours.
Dan Scavino, the Assistant to the President & White House Deputy Chief of Staff, earlier said the call is underway between both the leaders and the discussions were still in progress.
Happening Now—President Trump is currently in the Oval Office speaking with President Vladimir Putin of Russia since 10:00amEDT. The call is going well, and still in progress.— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) March 18, 2025
“The call is going well," Scavino had said in a post on social media site X one hour after the call began.
Scavino said that the call between both presidents began around 10:00am (local time).
During the conversation, both leaders are expected to discuss measures to restore peace in a manner that is agreeable to both sides, though the US had told Ukrainians that they are unlikely to get back all the land that was occupied by Russia during the course of the war. A report by the New York Times said that Trump and Putin did discuss how much territory Ukraine would lose.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed his skepticism about the truce talks and said that a halt to the war should be reached first and then Kyiv and Moscow can sit on the negotiating table to discuss territory.
Kyiv said it expected Moscow to “unconditionally" accept the ceasefire.
“It is time for Russia to show whether it really wants peace," Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.
Zelenskyy has warned Putin does not want peace and is trying to achieve a better position militarily ahead of any halt in fighting.
The leaders spoke almost five weeks ago for the first time since Russia launched what it terms its “special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022. Both leaders held a lengthy phone call and after the phone call Trump had directed his national security team to “immediately" begin negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Location :Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:March 18, 2025, 20:30 IST
News world Trump, Putin Discuss Ukraine War In Marathon Phone Call That Lasted Over 2 Hours: 'Went Very Well'
