President Donald Trump said he held a “very productive” phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, shortly before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida for talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
“I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump is set to host Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss the U.S. plan to end the nearly four-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy arrived in the U.S. on Saturday following a visit to neighboring Canada. He said discussions with Trump would focus on key unresolved issues, including the future of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Commenting on the phone call, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the conversation lasted about one hour and 15 minutes and was organized at Trump’s initiative to discuss the “current situation in the context of the Ukrainian conflict and the potential for its resolution.”
Ushakov said Putin stressed the importance of continuing dialogue based on understandings reached at the Alaska summit in August and during numerous contacts between their representatives. He added that both presidents agreed that the temporary ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and European countries could prolong the conflict and risk a resumption of hostilities.
The Kremlin aide said that a halt to hostilities “requires, first and foremost, Kyiv to make a bold, responsible political decision, consistent with the ongoing work being carried out through the Russian-American channel.”
Ushakov also noted that Trump “insisted on the need to end the war as quickly as possible, speaking of the impressive prospects for economic cooperation between the United States and both Russia and Ukraine.”
The two leaders agreed to continue efforts within the framework of two specially created working groups focused on security and economic issues, with the terms for their launch expected to be finalised in early January. Ushakov added that Putin and Trump agreed to speak again after the talks between Trump and Zelenskyy.
Russia has claimed further battlefield gains in recent weeks, saying its forces are advancing steadily in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Moscow continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw fully from the Donbas, including areas still under Kyiv’s control, a condition Ukrainian officials have repeatedly rejected.Russia currently controls Crimea, annexed in 2014, and significant parts of eastern and southern Ukraine following its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 18 January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a sweeping new round of tariffs on several European allies unless the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a diplomatic row over the Danish Arctic territory.
Leaders from several countries have received invitations to join a so-called U.S.-led ‘Board of Peace’, an initiative that would initially aim to end the conflict in Gaza before expanding to address other global disputes, diplomats said on Saturday.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday (17 January) that concerns over security in Greenland should be addressed within the framework of NATO, describing a ground military intervention as highly unlikely.
The European Union and South American bloc Mercosur have signed a long-awaited free trade agreement in Paraguay, opening the way for what would become the EU’s largest-ever trade deal.
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