Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted a proposal for a limited ceasefire in Ukraine following a lengthy phone conversation with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, though he stopped short of agreeing to a full 30-day truce sought by Kyiv.
The two leaders spoke for approximately 90 minutes in what the White House described as a step towards achieving peace in the conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to official statements, Putin agreed to an immediate 30-day pause in strikes on energy infrastructure but maintained that any comprehensive peace deal would require Ukraine’s Western allies to cease all military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, responding to the outcome, expressed cautious optimism mixed with scepticism.
“If there is a partial ceasefire, this is a positive result,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference following the announcement. He added that he hoped to speak directly with Trump to understand “what the Russians offered the Americans or what the Americans offered the Russians” during the conversation.
The agreement fell short of expectations after Ukraine had unconditionally backed a United States initiative for a complete 30-day ceasefire last week, a move that had been widely hailed as a potential breakthrough.
Trump acknowledged the limitations of the deal in a Fox News interview aired Tuesday night. “Right now, you have a lot of guns pointing at each other. And the ceasefire, without going a little bit further, would have been tough,” he said.
The White House statement indicated that both leaders agreed on starting negotiations for implementing a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea as well as discussions aimed at achieving a permanent peace. These talks are set to begin immediately in the Middle East.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff later revealed that negotiations will commence on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, led by US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I think it’s a relatively short distance to a full ceasefire from there,” Witkoff told Fox News following more than seven hours of meetings with Putin in the days preceding Trump’s call.
Kremlin statements stressed that Putin continues to insist on the “complete cessation” of foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine as a prerequisite for any lasting peace agreement.
Trump, who recently paused military aid to Ukraine following a reported clash with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, has since resumed some assistance after Ukraine agreed to the proposed 30-day ceasefire last Tuesday.
Zelenskyy insisted that Ukraine must be included in any peace negotiations. “There’s two parties in this war, Russia and Ukraine, so without Ukraine I think many negotiations would not result in any help,” he said.
The high-stakes diplomacy comes as Russian forces continue to make territorial gains in eastern Ukraine, strengthening Moscow’s negotiating position in any future comprehensive peace talks.
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