US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, March 18, agreed there should be a 30-day "energy and infrastructure ceasefire" in the Ukraine war and that broader truce talks should begin immediately, the White House said.

"These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East," the White House said in a statement, also citing a "huge upside" for economic and geopolitical goals if Russia and the United States improve their relations.

After the call, the Kremlin stated that Putin ordered a temporary halt to strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Tuesday. Trump proposed a 30-day halt on strikes on energy targets and "Vladimir Putin responded positively and immediately gave the Russian military a corresponding command," the statement said.

However, the Kremlin added that Putin had set out Russia's conditions for a ceasefire, including that Ukraine not be allowed to rearm. "The Russian side has outlined a number of essential points concerning effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire contact line and the need to halt both forced mobilisation in Ukraine and the rearmament of the Ukrainian armed forces," the statement said.

Moreover, the Kremlin said Russia and Ukraine would swap 175 prisoners each on Wednesday. "Vladimir Putin said that, on March 19, the Russian and Ukrainian sides would exchange prisoners – 175 for 175 people," the Kremlin said, in a readout of the call.