US President Donald Trump held a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, during which the two leaders agreed to an immediate partial ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. The agreement applies to energy and infrastructure on both sides, with further ceasefire negotiations set to begin soon in the Middle East.
According to a White House statement, the next round of talks will focus on implementing a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea. The two leaders also agreed that the conflict must end with a lasting peace. The statement emphasized that the war between Russia and Ukraine should never have started and could have been resolved long ago through sincere and good-faith peace efforts.
The phone call followed Kyiv’s agreement last week to an immediate 30-day ceasefire, brokered in Saudi Arabia. As part of the deal negotiated between US and Ukrainian delegations, Washington resumed sharing intelligence with Kyiv—a practice it had suspended on 5 March following a tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
Following the announcement of the deal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that ‘the ball is now in Russia’s court’ to accept the ceasefire, arguing that rejection would expose which side is truly committed to peace.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Moscow on Thursday for closed-door talks with Putin, briefing him on the ceasefire proposal. Prior to that, Putin had stated that Moscow supported the ceasefire ‘in principle’ but raised concerns about its real intent. The Kremlin claims that an immediate ceasefire would primarily benefit Ukraine by allowing its armed forces time to regroup and rearm.
Following Witkoff’s visit, the Kremlin confirmed that Putin had sent a message to Trump regarding the ceasefire plan, expressing ‘cautious optimism’ about the possibility of an agreement.
Hours before the call media reports speculated that Trump was considering recognizing Crimea as Russian territory as part of a broader effort to end the conflict. Trump himself hinted at discussing ‘land’ and ‘dividing assets’ with Putin, but after the call, neither side mentioned Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Putin, however, reiterated that a complete halt to military aid to Ukraine remains a key condition for ending the war. The Russian president also announced that Russia would return 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv as a humanitarian gesture.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó welcomed the partial ceasefire in a post on X, stating: ‘We fully support the peace agreement and hope Brussels will not undermine the peace process,’ referring to the European Union’s longstanding pro-war stance.
Balázs Orbán, political director of the Hungarian prime minister also shared a post praising Donald Trump’s diplomacy, which ‘produced the first ceasefire of the Ukraine war.’ ‘This is an excellent first step on the road to peace in Europe,’ Orbán added, highlighting the need to remain focused on the goal and ‘ignore the siren song of the Warmongers party.’
Beyond Ukraine, Trump and Putin also discussed bilateral relations. ‘The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has enormous potential, including major economic deals and enhanced geopolitical stability once peace has been achieved,’ the White House statement read.
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