Is peace within reach?
According to multiple reports, including an official White House statement, Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke for nearly 90 minutes on Tuesday as America continues efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.
The White House called it the first step in a “movement to peace,” aiming for a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a lasting end to the conflict. It stated that negotiations on these steps would “begin immediately.” However, Ukraine’s stance on the phased ceasefire plan remains unclear.
The administration’s Office of Communications sent out an official email at 1:27 p.m. ET Tuesday:
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. 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.
This 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. These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.
A Russian government official stated after the call, “Under the leadership of president Putin and president Trump, the world has become a much safer place today.” That’s a promising sign, hopefully.
The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts. They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons 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.
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.
A Russian government official reportedly stated after the call, “Under the leadership of president Putin and president Trump, the world has become a much safer place today.”
The call comes after Trump said last night that “Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.”
“Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW. I look very much forward to the call with President Putin,” Trump wrote on his TRUTH Social account.
