 "Trump and Putin to discuss ceasefire plan in highly anticipated phone call")
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump are scheduled to hold talks on Tuesday in an attempt to get support for a U.S. ceasefire plan that Trump believes might pave the way for the end of Russia’s catastrophic war on Ukraine.
The White House is confident that peace is within approach, even if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is doubtful that Putin is doing much more than paying lip service to Trump as Russian soldiers continue to pound his nation.
The engagement is only the latest development in significantly altering US-Russia relations, as Trump has prioritised fast resolving the conflict, even if it means hurting relationships with long-time American allies who want Putin to pay a price for the invasion.
“It’s a bad situation in Russia, and it’s a bad situation in Ukraine,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “What’s happening in Ukraine is not good, but we’re going to see if we can work a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace. And I think we’ll be able to do it.”
The Kremlin said the highly-anticipated phone call between Putin and Trump will take place between 1300 GMT and 1500 GMT on Tuesday and that Trump and Putin will discuss Ukraine and the “normalisation” of US-Russian ties.
“It will indeed take place from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Moscow time,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There is a large number of issues from the normalisation of our relations and the Ukrainian issue, all of which the two presidents will discuss.”
Impact Shorts
View AllIn preparation for the Trump-Putin call, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met last week with Putin in Moscow to discuss the proposal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had persuaded senior Ukrainian officials during talks in Saudi Arabia to agree to the ceasefire framework.
Ukraine’s foreign minister on Tuesday urged Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Kyiv and Washington, ahead of a telephone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
“It is time for Russia to show whether it really wants peace. Ukraine supported the US proposal for a temporary ceasefire for 30 days. We expect the Russian side to unconditionally agree to this proposal,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.
The U.S. president said Washington and Moscow have already begun discussing “dividing up certain assets” between Ukraine and Russia as part of a deal to end the conflict.
Trump, who during his campaign pledged to quickly end the war, has at moments boasted of his relationship with Putin and blamed Ukraine for Russia’s unprovoked invasion, all while accusing Zelenskyy of unnecessarily prolonging the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
Trump has said that swaps of land and power plants will be part of the conversation with Putin.
Witkoff and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that U.S. and Russian officials have discussed the fate of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southern Ukraine.
The power plant has been caught in the crossfire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed alarm about the nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, fueling fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe.
The nuclear power plant is a significant asset, producing nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s electricity in the year before the war.
“I can say we are on the 10th yard line of peace,” Leavitt said. “And we’ve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment. And the president, as you know, is determined to get one done.”
But Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, questioned whether Putin is ready to end the war or will hold out for potential further concessions as Trump grows impatient.
After a disastrous Feb. 28 White House meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump temporarily cut off some military intelligence-sharing and aid to Ukraine. It was restored after the Ukrainians last week signed off on the Trump administration’s 30-day ceasefire proposal.
“The U.S. has been consistently offering in some form preemptive concessions that have been weakening the American and Ukrainian negotiating position,” Bowman said. “I think there’s a real danger here that the administration’s approach is boiling down to sticks for Ukraine and carrots for Putin.”
Zelenskyy in his nightly video address on Monday made clear he remains doubtful that Putin is ready for peace.
“Now, almost a week later, it’s clear to everyone in the world — even to those who refused to acknowledge the truth for the past three years — that it is Putin who continues to drag out this war,” Zelenskyy said.
In his dealings with Zelenskyy and Putin, Trump has frequently focused on who has the leverage. Putin has “the cards” and Zelenskyy does not, Trump has said repeatedly.
Trump, who has long shown admiration for Putin, has also made clear he’d like to see the U.S.-Russia relationship return to a more normal footing.
The president during his recent contentious meeting with Zelenskyy grumbled that “Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” a reference to the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in which he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump on Monday again underscored his view that Ukraine is not in a strong negotiating position. He said Russian forces have “surrounded” Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region — amplifying an assertion made by Russian officials that’s been refuted by Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s army stunned Russia in August last year by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of land. But Ukraine’s forces are now in retreat and it has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip, as momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia.
Zelenskyy has acknowledged that the Ukrainians are on their back foot but refutes Russian claims that they have encircled his troops in Kursk.
Trump suggested that he’s taken unspecified action that has kept Russia from slaughtering Ukrainian troops in Kursk.
“They’re surrounded by Russian soldiers, and I believe if it wasn’t for me they wouldn’t be here any longer,” Trump said.
 "National Guard moves into DC as Trump’s law-and-order push sparks backlash from mayors")
 "Foreign ministers of 25 countries urge Israel to let aid into Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens")
 "India & China likely to resume direct flights within weeks: Report")
 "Trump’s Munir outreach, India tariffs aren’t strategy — it’s about a Nobel: Ex-NSA John Bolton")
 "National Guard moves into DC as Trump’s law-and-order push sparks backlash from mayors")
 "Foreign ministers of 25 countries urge Israel to let aid into Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens")
 "India & China likely to resume direct flights within weeks: Report")
 "Trump’s Munir outreach, India tariffs aren’t strategy — it’s about a Nobel: Ex-NSA John Bolton")
