Trump And Putin Agree On The Need For Eternal Peace In Ukraine

JAKARTA - President Donald Trump of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia agreed that the Ukraine conflict needed to end with lasting peace, the White House said in a written statement following its second phone call on Tuesday.

"Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke of the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. The two leaders agreed that this conflict needs to end with eternal peace," the document reads, quoted from TASS March 19.

President Trump himself described his phone call with President Putin as positive.

"We made a great phone call. It lasted almost two hours," said President Trump at Fox News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle" show.

According to the Kremlin's press service, during the phone call, Putin reaffirmed his principled commitment to a lasting peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. The Russian leader stressed the unconditional need "to eliminate the root causes of the crisis and consider Russia's security interests."

The White House said talks aimed at a broader peace plan would begin soon, following yesterday's phone call.

It is unclear whether Ukraine will engage in the talks, which will take place in the Middle East and include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea as well as a more complete ceasefire and a permanent peace agreement.

The Kremlin said President Putin ordered the Russian military to stop attacks on energy locations after speaking with President Trump.

However, he raised concerns that a temporary ceasefire could allow Ukraine to re-armed and mobilize more troops, and double its demands, any resolution requiring an end to all military and intelligence aid to Ukraine, according to a Kremlin statement.

Trump told Fox News that aid to Ukraine did not appear in the conversation.

Earlier, Ukraine said on March 11, it was ready to accept a full ceasefire for 30 days, a move US officials said would lead to a more substantial round of negotiations to end Europe's biggest conflict since the Second World War.

The war, which broke out on February 24, 2022, has killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions of people, and destroyed entire cities into rubble.

President Trump has signaled a permanent peace deal could include Kyiv's territorial concession and control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.