The White House has released key details from a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin about negotiations for the end of the war in Ukraine.
Weeks after Trump's explosive White House meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the US president engaged in a 90-minute phone call with Russia's Putin to broach the topic of a potential ceasefire and end to the war in Ukraine.
It was three years in February since Putin made the decision to launch a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, with around 18% of the Eastern European country's territory believed to be occupied by Russia.
Since taking office in January, President Trump has pursued securing peace between the two nations by whatever means necessary — even going as far as temporarily pausing military aid and foreign intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
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Following the conversation between Trump and Putin, the White House released the takeaways from the discussion, which include Russia agreeing to pause military strikes on Ukraines energy and infrastructure - although Putin rejected a proposal for an immediate ceasefire.
"Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace," the transcript read.
Key takeaways from Trump and Putin's conversation include beginning with an 'energy and infrastructure ceasefire', before moving onto negotiations for the 'implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace'.
"These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East. The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts," the transcript continued.
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The White House transcript went on to add that both Trump and Putin had also discussed the possibility of 'improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia'.
"The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people," it added. "This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts."
The Kremlin has also released a statement of key points from the discussion, including calls for a 'complete cessation' of military intelligence and foreign aid to Ukraine.
Russia also stated that a swap of 175 prisoners on each side of the war would take place, with a further gravely wounded Ukrainian soldiers to be released as a 'as a gesture of goodwill'.
Topics: US News, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Russia, Ukraine
Brenna Cooper