Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to a “partial ceasefire against energy” and said “lasting peace” was possible under Donald Trump’s leadership, after the two leaders had a one-hour phone conversation overnight. Source: The Australian.
The US President hailed the phone call as “very good”, noting that they were “very much on track” in securing a peace deal.
The discussion – markedly shorter than Mr Trump’s two-hour-long chat with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday – is the first direct conversation since the heated Oval Office exchange last month and came after both Russia and Ukraine accused one another of violating a temporary ceasefire brokered by the White House.
Mr Trump posted on social media late Wednesday (local time) that “much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs’’.
Mr Zelenskyy described the phone call as “frank,” posting on X: “One of the first steps towards fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.”
Reading out a statement issued by Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state and the national security adviser Mike Waltz at the White House, White House press secretary Katherine Leavitt told reporters: “Technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea on the way to a full ceasefire.
“They agreed this could be the first step toward the full end of the war and ensuring security.”
Mr Rubio and Mr Waltz also said Mr Trump had suggested to Mr Zelenskyy that the US take ownership of Ukraine’s power plants to ensure their security.
Russia and Ukraine also exchanged 372 soldiers in a prisoner swap on Wednesday.
The phone conversation between the leaders came a day after Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin brokered a 30-day pause on attacks against energy infrastructure.
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Zelensky agrees partial ceasefire in phone call with Trump (By Jacquelin Magnay, The Australian)
