Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected the initiative for a general ceasefire, to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously agreed and instead ordered a 30-day halt of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, according to the Kremlin’s press service following a nearly two-hour phone call with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
The heads of state also agreed to start negotiating a ceasefire at sea in the Black Sea immediately, with the talks to take place in the near east, according to the White House. Additionally, a prisoner exchange is to take place, the Kremlin’s press service reported. Trump also supported Putin’s idea of organizing joint ice hockey games in the United States and Russia.
Regarding the proposal for a general ceasefire, Putin made a range of accusations against Ukraine. In the Kremlin’s view, the “most important condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict” is “the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kiev” the Russian press service stated.
Without naming Russia as an aggressor, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement following the call that the conflict “should never have begun” and “should have been ended a long time ago through honest and genuine peace efforts.” The “blood and riches that both Ukraine and Russia have invested in this war should be better used for the needs of their populations” Leavitt said.
Russia had also offered the United States cooperation on rare earths on Tuesday. “Russia has a multiple of reserves of rare earth metals compared to Ukraine and the president has made this clear” said Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), according to the state news agency Tass. “We can either cooperate with the United States or with other countries in this regard.”
Prior to the call, Trump had mentioned land and power plants as potential concessions to Russia and also mentioned discussing the division of certain assets. Many elements of a final agreement have already been agreed upon, he said.