The phone call between the Russian and US leaders is “going well” according to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino
The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have been engaged in a phone call since about 10am EDT on Tuesday.
The two leaders are believed to be discussing a ceasefire deal in the Ukraine conflict. The conversation marks the second time the two leaders have spoken by phone since Trump took office in January.
According to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, the conversation is “going well,” and is still in progress.
The White House has also confirmed that Trump will speak to the press right after concluding his phone call with Putin.
Tuesday’s phone call comes after the US unveiled a 30-day ceasefire initiative last week following a meeting with Ukrainian representatives in Saudi Arabia. Putin has since stated that he is open to the idea of a truce but has demanded that certain key issues be addressed beforehand. These include the question of what to do with the Ukrainian troops encircled in Russia’s Kursk Region as well as guarantees that Kiev would not use the truce to rearm and refill its ranks.
Previously, Trump said he expected the phone call with Putin to make significant progress in establishing a ceasefire, stating that they would discuss a number of topics, including “land” and “power plants.”
Putin and Trump’s call on February 12 marked the first time that the leaders of Russia and the US had spoken in years. It was followed by high-level talks in Saudi Arabia on February 18, where Washington and Moscow agreed to assign teams to work on resolving the Ukraine conflict, restore embassy operations, and address other points of contention in bilateral relations. Since then, additional discussions have been held in Istanbul, focusing on diplomatic funding and a proposal from Moscow to reinstate direct flights.
