The president of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke on Wednesday by phone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelenski, a day after agreing with Vladimir Putin a temporary truce bounded to the energy objectives, much more limited than that kyiv had accepted.
In a brief post on his social Truth network, Trump has described the call as “very good.” “We just had a very good telephone conversation with President Zelenski of Ukraine. He has lasted about an hour,” he said. “Much of the conversation was based on yesterday’s call with President Putin to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. We are very well directed, and I will ask the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz, to make a precise description of the points discussed. That statement will be published shortly.”
This is the first known conversation between the two leaders after the Ukrainian President left the Oval Office after being abroaded by Trump in front of the cameras at the end of February. Since then, kyiv has made concessions in the pressure of Washington, who came to cut his military and intelligence supply. Zelenski harshly accepted the truce by land, sea and air proposed by the US president, while Putin is still sitting at the table with a long list of demands and red lines.
The Ukrainian leader had announced Wednesday that he hoped to speak with the US president about his 90 -minute call with Putin. He has done it at a press conference with the Finnish president in which he has rejected that military assistance to kyiv is suspended as Russia asks to agree on a high temporal fire.
Shortly before the call between Trump and Zelenski, kyiv and Moscow they have confirmed that they have exchanged 175 prisoners of war each, while Russia has freed 22 “seriously injured” Ukrainians in what he has presented as a “gesture of good will.”
More negotiations in Saudi Arabia
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy who is playing a key role in negotiations on Ukraine, has said he hopes that conversations between the United States and Russia continue on Sunday in Saudi Arabia. Later, the National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, has said that he has agreed with his Russian counterpart that the technical teams of the two parties have more conversations in Riyadh “in the next few days” to focus on the high partial fire agreed with Russia.
Asked if Ukraine will participate in the follow -up conversations next Sunday in Saudi Arabia, Zelenski had responded that he would reveal the details after speaking with the US president, but who is willing to send to his technical team “to discuss the next steps.”
Before the telephone conversation, the Ukrainian president has remarked that “Putin’s words are very different from reality” and has insisted that kyiv has as a red line the non -recognition of the territories occupied as Russians. Last week, Trump assured before NATO secretary, Mark Rutte, who had already spoken with Ukraine about the territories that he would lose to reach a peace agreement. The medium Semafor He also published that Trump is considering delivering Crimea to Russia.
This Tuesday, Zelenski had accepted in principle the pause of attacks on energy objectives agreed by Trump with Putin. However, he had been cautious waiting to receive more details from the US while asking for greater pressure on Moscow, arguing that Putin does not want to finish the war.
Ukraine agreed last week to a total cessation of hostilities for a period of 30 days proposed by the US that Russia – who wants to continue maintaining Trump’s interest – reduced the fire limited to the attacks to the energy sector – just when it reaches spring – that could later extend to hostilities in the black sea.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Witkoff has said that he believes that a total truce can be achieved between Russia and Ukraine “in a couple of weeks” and has defended that Putin acts “in good faith.”
The Russian leader essence in the American proposal of truce last week, putting their own conditions. “In the current negotiations with Washington, Putin’s main task is not to break the positive dynamics in bilateral contacts, without giving up his positions on Ukraine,” says Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the ‘Think Tank’ R.Politik. According to his analysis, the Russian demands make the perspectives of a peace agreement with Ukraine “be more than doubtful and remote, but Putin understands how important the successes and tangible agreements are for Trump.”
Trump has undertaken an abrupt turn in the Ukraine War policy, substantially increasing the pressure on kyiv as Moscow approaches and breaks the isolation of Putin by the West.
The agreement on minerals
Another issue that Trump and Zelenski have pending is the signing of the Okraine mineral deposits exploitation agreement. The visit of the Ukrainian president to Washington at the end of February was main to close the treatment, but the meeting ended with a fracture in relations between the United States and Ukraine that Zelenski has tried to rebuild.
The initial text that was agreed established that Ukrainian mineral resources, including oil and gas, would be jointly exploited between the US and Ukraine after Washington withdrawing its requirement to obtain rights over 500,000 million dollars in potential income derived from it. It remains to be seen if Trump will now try to squeeze more kyiv in full deterioration of relations and the situation of weakness to which the United States is pushing Ukraine. In his effort to reconcile with the main provider of military support, Zelenski said he was willing to sign the agreement in the manner that “suits” the magnate.
The original text also did not grant any type of security guarantee for Ukraine by Washington. Zelenski wanted to tear it to Trump at the meeting in the oval office, although he failed, as he already saw before the cameras.
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