First phone call between Putin and Trump addresses Ukraine and more

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held their first telephone conversation.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated at a press conference that the conversation lasted one and a half hours. Donald Trump also confirmed from his side that he had a conversation with Vladimir Putin.

Peskov said the leaders discussed the issue of prisoner exchange. “The US President assured that the American side will fulfill all the agreements reached,” Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman emphasized that the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine was also discussed.

“President Trump called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a peaceful settlement of the conflict. President Putin, in turn, noted the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term solution can be achieved through peace negotiations,” the spokesman said.

Peskov said that the Russian president supported one of the main theses of the US president that “it is time for our countries to work together.”

“During the meeting, the issues of the settlement in the Middle East, the Iranian nuclear program, and Russian-American bilateral relations in the economic sphere were also discussed,” Peskov said.

According to Peskov, Putin invited the US president to visit Moscow and expressed readiness to host American officials in Russia in areas of mutually beneficial work, including the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

“Putin and Trump also agreed on the continuation of personal contacts and the organization of a personal meeting,” the spokesman added.

On the other hand, Trump announced in a post on the social media platform Truth Social that he had a “long and extremely productive” phone call with Putin.

“We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, energy, artificial intelligence, the power of the dollar, and a variety of other topics,” Trump wrote.

“We both remembered the great history of our nations and the fact that during the Second World War we fought together and achieved extraordinary successes. We did not forget that Russia lost tens of millions of people and we lost a lot of people!” Trump added.

Trump emphasized that the meeting was about the strength of both countries and the “great profit” they can achieve by working together.

“But first and foremost, as we both recognize, millions of deaths must be stopped,” Trump said on the Ukrainian conflict, adding that he would instruct his teams to start negotiations immediately.

The American leader indicated that he would also call Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy today to inform him about his meeting with Putin.

Trump also announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Special Representative Steve Witkoff will preside over the negotiations on his instructions.

“We have agreed to close cooperation, including mutual visits to our countries,” Trump concluded.

After Trump won the US presidential election last November, Putin said he was ready to contact the Americans to restore relations.

“The ball is now in the US court, because we did not spoil relations and we did not impose any sanctions against them,” Putin said.

The American leader has also repeatedly expressed his readiness to engage in dialogue with Putin and his desire to resolve the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible.