The White House announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump discussed a “movement to peace” in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace,” Press Secretary Katherine Leavitt said, according to a readout. “They 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.”
Leavitt said the conflict “should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts.”
“The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace,” she continued. “These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.”
She added that the leaders “discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons” in the Middle East and will “engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application.”
“The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel,” Leavitt stated. “The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved.”
Putin said during a news conference last week that he supports the “idea” of a ceasefire.
“So the idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” he said. “But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to discuss it with our American colleagues and partners.”
“We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,” he said, adding that he believes “it would be good for the Ukrainian side to secure a ceasefire for at least 30 days.”
