Updated March 18, 2025 at 16:51 PM ET
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a phone call on Tuesday to start talks toward a ceasefire in Ukraine, the White House said — with the Kremlin saying it would begin with a 30-day halt to strikes on energy infrastructure.
There were differences in how the leaders described the call. The Kremlin said in a statement that Moscow wants a long-term settlement, but said Putin insisted on an end to foreign intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine.
Trump, however, maintained in an interview with Fox News Channel's The Ingraham Angle that the topic of aid did not come up during the call, which he said lasted almost two hours.
"We didn't talk about aid. Actually, we didn't talk about aid at all. We talked about a lot of things, but aid was never discussed," Trump said in the interview.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs to be involved
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is open to talks to end the war, but said his country needs more details about plans — and needs to be involved.
Last week, Ukraine agreed to a U.S. plan for a broader 30-day ceasefire. As part of the plan, the United States immediately lifted its pause on sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said on social media on Tuesday that Putin had "effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire" and said that "only a real cessation of strikes on civilian infrastructure by Russia, as proof of its willingness to end this war, can bring peace closer," Zelenskyy said.
The White House says more negotiations will start immediately
The White House said Trump and Putin agreed to the "energy and infrastructure ceasefire" and technical negotiations on a maritime ceasefire for the Black Sea — with those talks slated to begin "immediately" in the Middle East.
Tuesday's high-stakes call was the latest effort in Trump's efforts to reach an agreement to eventually lead to the end of the Russian war on Ukraine. Trump last spoke to Putin on Feb. 12 for about 90 minutes, during which time the leaders agreed to visit each other's nations.
On Sunday, ahead of the call, Trump told reporters that negotiations have progressed so far that he and Putin would be discussing "dividing up certain assets," including land and power plants.
Trump and Putin also discussed the Middle East and agreed the region could serve as a place for potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts. The White House said they discussed "the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons" and agreed that "Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel."
There were signs of potential detente elsewhere, too. Following the call, Moscow authorities briefly removed an installation supporting Russia's war in Ukraine that had stood in front of the American embassy in Moscow since 2023 — although workers later claimed the structure was removed for cleaning.
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