Trump, Putin speak for more than an hour as US seeks Russian sign-off on plan to end Ukraine war
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have concluded a more than an hour-long call as the White House pushes its 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine aimed at ending the grinding war.
The White House and Kremlin did not offer any immediate details about the substance of the conversation, but both have confirmed that the call has ended.
Trump said before the call that he expected to discuss with Putin land and power plants that have been seized during the three-year war.
Tuesday's call comes after Ukrainian officials last week agreed to the American proposal during talks in Saudi Arabia led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, remains sceptical that Putin is ready for peace as Russian forces continue to pound Ukraine.
The White House expressed optimism in advance that peace is within reach even as Zelenskyy remains sceptical that Putin is doing much beyond paying lip service to Trump as Russian forces continue to pound his country.
The engagement is just the latest turn in dramatically shifting US-Russia relations as Trump made quickly ending the conflict a top priority — even at the expense of straining ties with longtime American allies who want Putin to pay a price for the invasion.
