During an over two-hour call, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed that the war in Ukraine “needs to end with a lasting peace”, the White House said on Tuesday.
Reaffirming that the two countries will move closer under the Trump administration, the two leaders “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. This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts,” a White House readout said.
Outlining the contours of a possible pause in the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump and Putin agreed that “the movement to peace” will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire as well as technical negotiations on the implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, “full ceasefire and permanent peace”. These negotiations, the White House said, will begin immediately in the Middle East.
The White House said the leaders also spoke about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts and “shared the view” that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel. The need to stop the proliferation of strategic weapons was also discussed.
On the ties between the United, Trump and Putin agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has “huge upside”. This, the readout said, includes “enormous economic deals” and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved.
