President Donald Trump confirmed Russia’s willingness to a 30-day ceasefire as high-stakes negotiations over land and energy assets unfold.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. President Donald Trump is in direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in a scheduled two-hour call focused on brokering a ceasefire in Ukraine, as all parties move closer to finalizing terms for halting the conflict. The high-level discussion, taking place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Eastern Time, marks the most significant diplomatic engagement between Washington and Moscow since Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire following U.S.-led talks in Saudi Arabia on March 11.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted ahead of the call that while some preliminary agreements have been reached, “there are many issues” remaining, including “bilateral relations and the Ukrainian settlement.” Both Russia and the United States have indicated a willingness to pursue peace, though each maintains that a ceasefire must align with its respective interests.
President Trump, who announced the call over the weekend, stated on Truth Social, “Tomorrow morning I will be speaking to President Putin concerning the War in Ukraine. Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.” Trump emphasized the urgency of the talks, citing the human cost of the war: “Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW.”
Asked Monday whether Russia would agree to the ceasefire terms already accepted by Ukraine, Trump responded, “They would,” as he departed the Kennedy Center in Washington following a tour. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the call would include discussions on territorial arrangements and energy infrastructure. “There’s a power plant that is on the border of Russia and Ukraine that was up for discussion with the Ukrainians, and he will address it in his call with Putin tomorrow,” she said.
Trump previously disclosed that the talks would cover “dividing up certain assets,” referencing both land and “power plants,” including Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. He has expressed determination to reach an agreement to end what he called the “killing field” of Ukraine. “We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow last Thursday to lay groundwork for the ceasefire call. In a CNN interview, Witkoff described the meeting as “positive and solution-based,” though he declined to disclose specific Russian conditions for the ceasefire.
One of Moscow’s key demands, articulated Monday by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, is a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO. “We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement,” Grushko said, including Ukraine’s permanent neutral status and NATO’s refusal to accept it into the alliance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously insisted that any peace deal must include robust security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression, further complicating negotiations. Despite initial resistance, Ukraine has now agreed to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan, while Russia continues to press for territorial recognition, including of Crimea, which Moscow reportedly views as a “good faith measure” by the U.S.
President Trump’s administration has made ending the Ukraine conflict a foreign policy priority, and today’s call with President Putin is expected to determine whether the 30-day ceasefire will take effect across all fronts or remain conditional on final disputes over land and energy being resolved.
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