President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin negotiated an “energy and infrastructure” cease-fire deal Tuesday but fell short of an agreement on a total halt to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Trump and Putin came to the partial cease-fire agreement during a call about ending the Ukraine conflict and improving relations between the U.S. and Russia, the White House said.
“The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East,” the White House said in a readout.
“The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved.”
The 30-day partial cease-fire agreement comes after Putin rejected last week a U.S. proposal to temporarily pause the fighting in Ukraine and demanded further concessions, despite the Trump administration’s attempts to accommodate Russia. The Trump administration began its diplomatic outreach to Russia last month with a call between Trump and Putin, and talks between U.S. and Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia. It remains to be see whether Russia will be true to its word once U.S. and Russian officials hash out the specifics of the partial cease-fire.
Ukraine agreed to a 30-day cease-fire last week following negotiations between top U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia. As part of the deal, the U.S. resumed military aid to Ukraine and intelligence sharing after cutting off the Ukrainians temporarily because of the White House blow up between Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over U.S. support for Ukraine and talks with the Russians.
The war in Ukraine began over three years ago when Putin’s forces invaded their sovereign neighbor and received a much stronger than expected fight from the Ukrainian military. American military and economic aid has been vital for Ukraine’s success in maintaining most of its territory against its larger foe.
“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. For a week now, Putin has been unable to squeeze out ‘yes’ to the ceasefire proposal. He’s saying whatever he wants, but not what the whole world wants to hear,” Zelensky said Monday on social media. He has not yet commented on the breakthrough between Trump and Putin.
Trump and Putin also discussed the possibility of cooperation in the Middle East to prevent future conflict and ensure Iran is not able to destroy Israel. The Jewish state’s cease-fire in its conflict against Hamas ended Monday night with air strikes in Gaza that killed several senior Hamas leaders after the terror group rejected U.S. proposals for an extended cease-fire.
Since the start of his term, President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to end the bloodshed in Ukraine and get the to sides to the bargaining table. Trump has asserted on numerous occasions that Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if he was President at the time instead of Joe Biden.