President Vladimir Putin has agreed for the first time to a limited ceasefire to end attacks on energy infrastructure as Ukraine has also complied, the Kremlin said on a phone call between the Russian leader and US President Donald Trump on March 18.
In a two-and-a-half-hour phone call with President Trump, the Russian leader refused a 30-day ceasefire as proposed by US and Ukrainian officials. This means that attacks on Ukrainian cities and ports could continue.
However, if attacks on energy infrastructure are truly stopped, it would be the first time both sides have agreed to stop attacks in the three-year conflict, the New York Times pointed out.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is awaiting a call from President Trump to learn more about the US leader's discussions with his Russian counterpart. Mr Zelensky has said he is ready to stop strikes on energy infrastructure.
In a phone call on March 18, President Putin stressed that long-term peace depends on a complete end of foreign military and intelligence support for Kiev, the Kremlin informed.
Mr. Putin also said that Russia will release 23 seriously injured Ukrainian soldiers as a sign of goodwill and will conduct a Prisoner exchange with Ukraine later this month, including 175 prisoners from each side.
President Putin said that the proposal for a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire was correct and Russia supported it in principle. But the Russian leader reiterated concerns about the implementation of a ceasefire in a phone call on March 18 with US counterparts.
President Putin raised the issue of "ensuring effective control" to implement a ceasefire on the ground. The Russian leader also said that Ukraine will have to temporarily suspend the mobilization of personnel and rearming weapons, a condition that Ukraine affirmed it would not accept.
In a statement from the White House and a separate post by President Donald Trump on Truth Social, Washington said that President Putin had agreed to stop attacks on "energy and infrastructure". But the Kremlin's statement said it would stop attacking "energy infrastructure". It is not yet clear how the ceasefire on the energy sector will be implemented if it comes into effect.
The Kremlin said the two leaders also expressed their support for a broader normalization of relations between Russia and the US, and discussed the possibility of future economic cooperation, including in the energy sector. President Trump has agreed with President Putin's idea of organizing golf tournaments in Russia and the US, in which professional golf athletes from the two countries will compete.
In the statement, the White House focused on issues outside Ukraine, saying Trump and Putin discussed the Middle East, considering it a region with potential for cooperation and mentioning "the need to prevent the proliferation of strategic weapons".
The White House said that Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin have agreed to start "technical negotiations" on a ceasefire in the Black Sea and "a complete ceasefire and long-term peace". Talks on the issue will "start in the Middle East".
