‘Very productive exchange,’ Putin on talks with Trump on Russia-Ukraine crisis

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday following a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump said that the exchange was extremely productive.

utin said that Russia also supports a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

“This conversation has effectively taken place and lasted more than two hours. I would like to emphasise that it was both substantive and quite candid. Overall, I believe it was a very productive exchange,” he said.

Putin expressed his gratitude towards the US for attempting to sort the Ukraine-Russia issue.

“First and foremost, I expressed my gratitude to the President of the United States for the support provided by the United States in facilitating the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine aimed at potentially reaching a peace agreement and resuming the talks which, as we know, were thwarted by the Ukrainian side in 2022,” he said.

Putin said that Trump shared his views on the cessation of hostilities during the phone call that lasted for over two hours.

“The President of the United States shared his position on the cessation of hostilities and the prospects for a ceasefire. For my part, I noted that Russia also supports a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis as well. What we need now is to identify the most effective ways towards achieving peace,” he said.

Putin said that Russia is ready to engage with the Ukrainian side on drafting a memorandum regarding a potential future peace agreement.

“We agreed with the President of the United States that Russia would propose and is ready to engage with the Ukrainian side on drafting a memorandum regarding a potential future peace agreement. This would include outlining a range of provisions, such as the principles for settlement, the timeframe for a possible peace deal, and other matters, including a potential temporary ceasefire, should the necessary agreements be reached,” he said.

The Russian President said that as the peace talks have resumed, they were now on the right track.

“Contacts among participants of the Istanbul meeting and talks have resumed, which gives reason to believe that we are on the right track overall. I would like to reiterate that the conversation was highly constructive, and I assess it positively,” he said.

Putin added that the Ukrainian side must now show their commitment to peace.

“The key issue, of course, is now for the Russian side and the Ukrainian side to show their firm commitment to peace and to forge a compromise that would be acceptable to all parties. Notably, Russia’s position is clear. Eliminating the root causes of this crisis is what matters most to us,” he said.

US President Donald Trump claimed earlier in the day that he was doing the best he could with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to try and stop the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (ANI)