The Mountain Gave Birth to a Mouse: Trump and Putin Agree on Nothing in an Hour and a Half Phone Call

The presidents of the United States and Russia, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, spoke by telephone. The conversation began at 16:00 Kyiv time and lasted for an hour and a half. This was the second personal telephone conversation between the leaders of these two countries. Unfortunately, the results of this conversation were meager, writes Air force. According to information Reuters, American aid to Ukraine was not discussed at all.

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The only thing that can be said for sure is that there will be no quick ceasefire. According to the Kremlin, Putin supported Trump's idea of ​​a mutual 30-day renunciation of strikes on energy infrastructure by Russia and Ukraine and gave the military the corresponding order.

However, Putin once again put forward a number of conditions indicating that the complete ceasefire that Trump wanted will not happen in the near future.

On the subject: US resumes arms supplies and intelligence transfer to Ukraine: results of talks in Saudi Arabia

Russian version

Putin reiterated Russian demands for a full 30-day ceasefire:
“…the key condition… must be a complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv.”

In addition, for a complete 30-day ceasefire, Putin demands “ensuring effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire line of combat contact, the need to stop forced mobilization in Ukraine and rearm the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

According to a statement from Russian authorities, Putin informed Trump about the exchange between the Russian and Ukrainian sides, which will take place on March 19 in the format of 175 for 175 people.

In addition, the Russian leader promised to transfer 23 seriously wounded soldiers to Ukraine.

The Kremlin once again stated that the peace process must take into account “the need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis and Russia’s legitimate interests in the area of ​​security.”

Regarding the idea of ​​ensuring the safety of navigation in the Black Sea, the parties “agreed to begin negotiations to further develop the specific details of this decision.”

"The leaders confirmed their intention to continue efforts to achieve a Ukrainian settlement in a bilateral mode, including taking into account the above-mentioned proposals of the US President. For this purpose, Russian and American expert groups are being created," the Kremlin specified.

US version

White House press secretary Caroline Levitt wrote on the X network that Trump and Putin spoke about the “need for peace and a ceasefire” in the war in Ukraine.
"Both leaders agreed that this conflict must end in long-term peace."

Levitt's statement called for an end to attacks on energy and infrastructure, and the start of negotiations on a ceasefire in the Black Sea: "The plan is to have a complete cessation of hostilities and a permanent peace. Negotiations on this issue will begin immediately in the Middle East."

Levitt emphasized the "enormous potential" of bilateral relations between the United States and Russia.
"This includes large-scale economic deals and geopolitical stability once peace is achieved," she said in a statement.

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the conversation with the Russian president was "very good" and "productive," but did not provide any new details.

On the eve of this dialogue, Bloomberg, citing its own sources, stated that Vladimir Putin was demanding a halt to arms supplies to Ukraine for the duration of the 30-day ceasefire.

The maximum goal is a complete cessation of arms supplies to Kyiv, the minimum requirement is a suspension of American military aid, the agency reported the words of its interlocutors in Moscow.

Trump, in an interview on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle, said aid to Ukraine was not discussed during his phone call with Putin: "We didn't talk about aid, we didn't talk about aid at all. We talked about a lot of things, but aid was not discussed."

Washington is Ukraine’s largest military donor, having provided or committed more than $2022 billion in arms, ammunition, and other military aid since January 70. Of that amount, just over $15 billion has gone toward heavy weapons, according to the Kiel Institute.

"Partial truce"

Earlier, Ukraine itself proposed to the US to agree at least on a ceasefire at sea and in the air in general, since this is easier to control.

However, the American side at the negotiations in Jeddah insisted on a complete ceasefire for 30 days.

On March 11, a meeting of Ukrainian and US delegations took place in Saudi Arabia. As a result of the talks, the US unblocked military and intelligence aid to Ukraine, and Kyiv agreed to an immediate ceasefire if Putin agreed to it.

Later, on March 13, Putin received US Presidential Special Envoy Steven Witkoff in Moscow.

The Kremlin commented on the results of the meeting in a reserved manner: Vitkoff “provided additional information” about the ceasefire initiative in Ukraine, and Putin, through Vitkoff, “conveyed information and additional signals to Trump.”

Trump spoke more optimistically about the meeting in the Kremlin.
"We had very good and productive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and there is a very good chance that this terrible, bloody war will finally end," he wrote in Truth Social.

Reactions of world leaders

French and German leaders Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz said the agreement reached by Trump and Putin on a 30-day halt to attacks on energy infrastructure was only the first step toward permanent peace.

"The next step must be a complete ceasefire in Ukraine, and as soon as possible. Of course, we both agree on this," Macron told reporters at a joint press conference with Scholz.

Scholz, in turn, stressed that a peace agreement “cannot exist without Ukraine.”

The leaders of France and Germany have promised to continue providing military assistance to Ukraine.

What were we planning to talk about?

Earlier, the US stated that the conversation would discuss the war in Ukraine: territorial issues, as well as the situation in the Kursk region and at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, which is under the control of Russian troops.

There have been reports in the media that the United States is considering the possibility of recognizing occupied Crimea as Russian territory as part of a potential agreement to end the war.

American officials involved in peace talks in Ukraine have previously said that Kyiv would have to make territorial concessions.

US National Security Advisor Michael Volz stated that Ukraine could lose territory in exchange for “future security guarantees, future status.”

The NYT compared the upcoming Trump-Putin talks to the Yalta Conference of 1945: “To hear President Trump describe the meeting, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin are about to hold something like their own version of Yalta, when great powers drew up borders in Europe.”

How did Zelensky react?

Several hours after the conversation between Putin and Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made it clear that he was waiting for details of the dialogue from the American side.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he supports the proposal to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure (in exchange for a reciprocal move by Russia), but wants more information about the talks between the US and Russian leaders.

“I think it would be right if we had a conversation with President Trump, and then we would learn in detail what the Russians offered the Americans or what the Americans offered the Russians,” he noted.

Zelensky later said that Russia, despite Putin's statements during a conversation with Trump about readiness for peace, continues to attack Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

"Today Putin has effectively rejected the proposal for a complete ceasefire. It would be right for the world to reject any attempts by Putin to prolong the war," the Ukrainian president emphasized.

"I would very much like President Trump to hear and see what Putin wants. Putin wants to make several offensive actions in the Zaporizhia direction, in the east, in the Kharkiv and Sumy directions. For what? In order to put maximum pressure on Ukraine and then issue ultimatums from a position of strength," Volodymyr Zelensky said during a meeting with journalists. This was reported by the agency Ukrinfrom.

"I expect that we will have a conversation with President Trump, we will understand the details. We have always supported the position of not attacking the energy sector with any weapon," Zelensky concluded. "I think Ukrainians understand what is happening. There is an alarm in Ukraine now (an air raid alarm was declared during Zelensky's meeting with journalists. - Approx. Ed.). That is, in principle, this is the answer about what is happening. However, the Russians, as far as I know, said that they immediately during the conversation with President Trump gave the order to stop strikes on energy or long-range weapons, including "Shaheds". But now we are alarmed, which means that for now all this is not working."

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