US President Donald Trump announced his intention to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.
“I’ll be in conversation with President Putin on Tuesday. A significant amount of work has been accomplished over the weekend,” Mr. Trump stated to reporters aboard Air Force One during a late-night return flight from Florida to Washington.
“Our goal is to explore if we can put an end to this war. There’s a possibility we may succeed, or we may not, but I believe we have a very good chance,” Mr. Trump commented.
Mr. Trump is seeking to gain Mr. Putin’s backing for a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week, while both parties continued to exchange heavy aerial assaults over the weekend, and Russia edged closer to dislodging Ukrainian forces from their long-held position in the western Russian region of Kursk.
Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Mr. Trump mentioned that significant progress had been made over the weekend regarding the issue, which he spent in Florida, where he has a residence. He landed at Joint Base Andrews, just outside of Washington, in the early hours of this morning before heading to the White House.
Mr. Trump, who has shifted US policy closer to Moscow, has remarked that Ukraine has been more challenging to engage with than Russia. He had a contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month, which concluded with the Ukrainian leader departing the White House prematurely.
However, Ukraine’s acceptance of the suggested ceasefire has placed the responsibility on Russia to meet Mr. Trump’s expectations and will challenge the US president’s more optimistic stance towards Mr. Putin, who initiated Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Rubio, Lavrov communicate
Earlier, Moscow reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss “specific aspects of the implementation of understandings” from a US-Russia summit held in Saudi Arabia last month.
February’s Riyadh meeting marked the first high-level engagement between the United States and Russia since Moscow’s invasion on February 2022.
“Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio agreed to keep in touch,” stated the Russian foreign ministry, without referencing the US-proposed ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in conversation with his Russian counterpart.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce disclosed on Saturday that their discussions had centered on “the next steps” concerning Ukraine, and they “agreed to continue efforts to restore communication between the United States and Russia.”
The Lavrov-Rubio dialogue took place just hours after the UK conducted a virtual summit on Ukraine, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Mr. Putin of “dragging his feet” regarding the ceasefire.
“The ‘yes, but’ response from Russia is insufficient,” Mr. Starmer asserted, urging for an end to the “barbaric attacks on Ukraine once and for all.”
Yesterday, Ukraine reported that Russia had unleashed 90 Iranian-made Shahed drones across nine Ukrainian regions.
‘Compel Putin’ to peace
In his response to the ceasefire earlier this week, Mr. Putin remarked that the initiative would primarily benefit Ukraine, as Russian forces were “advancing” in several areas. He expressed “serious questions” about the initiative.
The proposal emerged as Russia – which occupies extensive areas in southern and eastern Ukraine – is gaining momentum in certain segments of the front.
It has managed to push Ukrainian forces from parts of its Kursk region, where Ukraine strives to retain areas of Russian territory as a bargaining chip for any future negotiations.
Mr. Putin indicated that he wished to discuss the Kremlin’s concerns with Trump during their phone call.
Late yesterday, Mr. Zelensky announced that he had conferred with Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney.
“The prime minister highlighted the urgent need to amplify pressure on Moscow,” he stated.
“The shadow fleet and the banking sector. We must implement comprehensive sanctions on all elements that provide funding for Russia’s war. Only then can we compel Putin to agree to a fair and lasting peace.”
Mr. Carney is scheduled to visit France today for discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the Ukraine conflict, before proceeding to London for a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Canada holds the presidency of the G7 nations this year.
