Both presidents have agreed to push for a lasting peace as opposed to a temporary ceasefire, according to the Kremlin
US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday to discuss a number of issues related to the Ukraine peace talks ahead of a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky in Florida, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov has said.
The two presidents held a “friendly, well-wishing and businesslike” conversation for an hour and 15 minutes, during which they expressed mutual interest in reaching a lasting peaceful settlement in the Ukraine conflict, according to Ushakov. Putin stressed the need to rely on the understandings reached between the presidents at the summit in Anchorage earlier this year, he added.
Both the Russian and US leaders agreed that a temporary ceasefire as proposed by Ukraine and its European backers “would only prolong the conflict and risk a resumption of hostilities,” according to the Kremlin aide.
Putin agreed to a proposal from Trump to continue the settlement process by forming two “working groups” to tackle security and economic issues, Ushakov said.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that he had a “very productive” conversation with Putin.
The presidents also agreed to talk again after the US leader’s meeting with Zelensky.
On Friday, Zelensky told Axios that he anticipates reaching an agreement on a peace framework during the discussions. The plan would reportedly require Russia to agree to a ceasefire prior to any permanent settlement.
Moscow has long rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire, maintaining that anything short of a peace deal would allow the Ukrainian military to rearm and regroup.
Earlier this week, Zelensky also revealed his new 20-point peace proposal, which he claimed had been discussed with US officials. Moscow dismissed it as a non-starter, calling it radically different from the plan discussed by Russia and the US.
On Saturday, Putin said during a meeting with top generals that some “smart people” in the West were offering Kiev “decent” peace terms that included “good framework security guarantees,” an economic recovery scheme, and a roadmap for restoring relations with Russia. However, Kiev is still in “no rush” to settle peacefully despite the favorable terms, he said.
If the Ukrainian authorities eschew a peaceful resolution, Russia will achieve its goals on the battlefield, Putin warned.
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