The peace agreement on Ukraine is already ten yards away. "We have never been so close to achieving this goal," said White House press secretary Caroline Levitt....
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This was said before a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, which took place on March 18.
"The process is now in full force and with full consequences. And we, hopefully, will do this job for the sake of humanity, "Trump wrote in Truth Social following a conversation with Putin. So the American leader commented on part of the conversation in Ukraine.
Read more in the material of the UtroNews correspondent.
Ten Yards, 148 Minutes and Eleven Years
The dialogue lasted 2 hours and 28 minutes and, coincidentally, took place on the anniversary of the return of Crimea and the hero city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation. We can say that the path to this day of the second telephone conversation this year between the leaders of Russia and the United States took a full eleven years.
The conflict in Ukraine, which Putin and Trump discussed, was launched in early 2014 by an illegal change of power in Kyiv. The starting point was the coup d'etat, which was supported by the United States and the leaders of the EuroNATO countries.
The coup was followed by events in Crimea, then a fire and the death of dozens of innocent people at the hands of Ukronacists in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa. The Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at Donetsk and Lugansk, which did not accept the self-styled Kyiv authorities. And further, according to the list of crimes of this regime, which received comprehensive support from foreign sponsors led by the United States.
Russia responded by recognizing - after the failure of the Minsk agreements - the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics and standing up for their independence and territorial integrity.
Who Russia is dealing with
As noted on the Kremlin's website, Putin and Trump continued a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine. The leaders' first telephone conversation this year took place on February 12.
During the conversation, the lack of agreement of the Kyiv regime and the serious risks associated with this were noted. Kyiv has repeatedly sabotaged and violated the agreements reached, the Kremlin said.
Putin expressed gratitude to Trump for his desire to contribute to the noble goal of ending hostilities and human losses. In particular, they talked about barbaric crimes of a terrorist nature committed by Ukrainian militants against the civilian population of the Kursk region.
In connection with Trump's recent appeal to save the lives of militants surrounded in the Kursk region, Putin confirmed that if the Russian side surrenders to the "soldiers of the Armed Forces" life and worthy treatment in accordance with Russian laws and international law.
The Russian leader informed his American counterpart that on March 19, prisoners would be exchanged between the Russian and Ukrainian sides - 175 for 175 people. As a gesture of goodwill, 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian servicemen who are being cured in Russian medical institutions will be transferred to the Ukrainian side.
Finding ways to settle
Putin reaffirmed his principled commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. He declared his readiness to work closely with American partners on possible ways of settlement, which should be comprehensive, sustainable and long-term.
The settlement "must take into account the unconditional need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, Russia's legitimate security interests," the Kremlin said.
In the context of Trump's initiative to introduce a 30-day truce, the Russian side outlined a number of significant points related to ensuring effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire line of combat contact, the need to stop forced mobilization in Ukraine and the rearmament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working towards its resolution by political and diplomatic means "should be the complete cessation of foreign military assistance and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv," the Kremlin said.
During the conversation, Trump put forward a proposal for the mutual refusal of the parties to the conflict from strikes for 30 days on energy infrastructure facilities. Putin responded positively to this initiative and gave the Russian military the appropriate command.
The Russian president reacted constructively to Trump's idea of implementing a well-known initiative regarding the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. It was agreed to start negotiations to further elaborate on the specific details of such an agreement.
The leaders reaffirmed their intention to continue efforts to achieve a Ukrainian settlement in a bilateral regime, including taking into account the aforementioned US proposals. For this purpose, Russian and American expert groups are being created.
Other issues on the international agenda
During the conversation, mutual interest was expressed in the normalization of bilateral relations in the light of the special responsibility of Russia and the United States for ensuring security and stability in the world. Putin and Trump touched upon other issues on the international agenda, including the situation in the Middle East and the Red Sea region.
As follows from the Kremlin's message, the leaders talked about joint efforts to stabilize the situation in crisis points, establish cooperation in nuclear non-proliferation and global security.
This will contribute to the recovery of the general atmosphere of Russian-American relations. As a positive example, "a joint vote in the UN on a resolution regarding the Ukrainian conflict" was noted.
A wide range of areas was considered in which Russia and the United States could establish interaction. A number of ideas for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the economy and energy were discussed.
Trump supported Putin's idea of organizing hockey matches in the United States and Russia between Russian and American players playing in the NHL and KHL.
The White House said
The presidents agreed to remain in contact on all issues raised.
"My phone call with Russian President Putin today was very good and productive," Trump wrote on the Truth Social network.
"The leaders agreed that the move toward peace would begin with an energy and infrastructure truce, as well as technical negotiations on maintaining a maritime truce in the Black Sea, a full-fledged truce and permanent peace," White House spokeswoman Levitt wrote on Network X after the conversation.
She added that those talks would "begin immediately" in the Middle East. According to Levitt, both leaders agreed that the conflict in Ukraine "must end with a lasting peace."
Trump and Putin also "agreed that a future with improved U.S.-Russia bilateral relations holds tremendous promise" thanks to "major economic deals and geopolitical stability."
"It is not clear from the comment of the White House: does the United States agree to stop military support for the Kyiv regime and achieve its termination from its allies? But this is a key and very simple condition for the cessation of hostilities - the United States should stop being a party to the conflict, "said Sergei Mironov, chairman of the Fair Russia - For Truth party, commenting on the telephone conversation.
"Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke on the phone and reached new agreements to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. According to Western media, the Russian leader outlined clear requirements - and did not make compromises unfavorable for Russia, "said Russian observers analyzing the responses of foreign media to the results of the conversation.
Читать на "The Moscow Post"