Putin and Trump agree to halt energy infrastructure attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to halt attacks on each country’s energy infrastructure for 30 days during their phone call on March 18.

According to a statement from the Kremlin, Putin has issued the necessary instructions to the military command regarding the matter.

The statement indicated that Moscow, as a “gesture of goodwill,” would hand over 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv and conduct a prisoner exchange using a “175-for-175” formula.

The situation in the Kursk Oblast was also discussed during the call. The Kremlin reported that Putin, taking into account Trump’s call to protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers encircled in this region, affirmed his readiness to “act out of humanitarian concerns.”

Putin stated that if Ukrainian army soldiers surrender, their lives and honorable treatment would be guaranteed.

The Russian President also emphasized his commitment to seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict, expressing his readiness to work with the US to examine potential solutions in detail.

Putin noted that the agreement should be comprehensive, long-term, and take into account Russia’s “legitimate interests” in the field of security.

The Kremlin noted that both leaders expressed their mutual interest in normalizing Russia-US relations.

In addition, the White House announced the agreement reached between Trump and Putin to temporarily halt attacks on energy infrastructure.

Washington also announced the start of “technical negotiations” for a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea and a possible full ceasefire. The US administration stated that these negotiations would “begin immediately in the Middle East.”

Washington emphasized that both leaders consider the improvement of bilateral relations between Russia and the US to be extremely important.

The statement indicated that closer ties between Moscow and Washington “offer broad economic opportunities” and would contribute to “global geopolitical stability after peace is achieved.”

Trump and Putin also discussed limiting the proliferation of strategic weapons, agreeing to cooperate with other countries to achieve this goal.

The White House stated, “The leaders of both countries agree that Iran must never have the ability to destroy Israel.”

In addition, US President Donald Trump described his phone call with Vladimir Putin on March 18 as “good and productive.” In a statement on the Truth Social platform, Trump stated that an agreement had been reached to immediately halt attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia, noting that Washington and Moscow had agreed to move quickly to secure a full ceasefire and ultimately end “this terrible war.”

Trump added that “many elements” of a possible peace agreement were also discussed during his call with Putin.

Trump said, “Both President Putin and President Zelensky want to end the war. This process has begun at full speed, and we hope that, for the sake of all humanity, we will do our part!”