What to expect from Trump's phone call with Putin on Ukraine
- Published
Donald Trump is due to speak on the phone to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to discuss a US-proposed Ukraine ceasefire deal.
The peace proposal on the table was discussed by Ukrainian and American delegates in Saudi Arabia last week.
After hours locked away in a room, they announced proposals for a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine said it was ready to accept.
Now Russia and the US will discuss the deal, but what could the two leaders talk about?
What has the US said?
Trump posted on Truth Social that he will speak to Putin on Tuesday morning.
The US president says "many elements" of a peace agreement in Ukraine have been agreed, but "much remains" to be worked upon.
"Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW. I look very much forward to the call with President Putin," Trump wrote.
He earlier told reporters that "we're going to see if we can work a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace, and I think we'll be able to do it".
The White House also sounded a more upbeat note on Monday, saying peace in Ukraine had "never been closer".
However, there have been varying views from within the Trump administration of how advanced the ceasefire talks are.
Speaking after his meeting in Jeddah with Ukrainian officials on 11 March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the "bulk" of the conversation had been "what a negotiation process would look like" and not "the specific conditions".
US envoy Steve Witkoff, who met Putin on Thursday in Moscow, has also struck a more measured tone.
What has Russia said?
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on what the leaders would discuss, responding: "We never do that".
While Putin has previously said he supports a ceasefire, he also set out a list of conditions for achieving peace.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow on 13 March, Putin said of the ceasefire proposal: "The idea is right - and we support it - but there are questions that we need to discuss."
Putin also outlined some of his questions over how a ceasefire would work. He asked: "How will those 30 days be used? For Ukraine to mobilise? Rearm? Train people? Or none of that? Then a question - how will that be controlled?
"Who will give the order to end the fighting? At what cost? Who decides who has broken any possible ceasefire, over 2,000km? All those questions need meticulous work from both sides. Who polices it?"
What could be the sticking points?
Asked on Sunday what concessions were being considered in the ceasefire negotiations, Trump said: "We'll be talking about land. We'll be talking about power plants [...] We're already talking about that, dividing up certain assets."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters on Monday that Trump was "determined" to secure the peace deal.
On what the talks might cover, she said: "There's a power plant that is on the border of Russia and Ukraine that was up for discussion with the Ukrainians, and he will address it in his call with Putin tomorrow."
The facility is likely to be the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. It has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, and fears of a nuclear accident have persisted due to fighting in the area.
Another area of contention is Russia's western Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a military incursion last August and captured some territory.
Russia had pushed to recapture it in recent weeks, and Putin now claims it is fully back in control of Kursk.
He has also raised numerous questions about how a ceasefire could be monitored and policed along the frontline in the east and has said he would not accept Nato troops on the territory.
How has the rest of the world reacted?
France's President Macron and newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who met on Tuesday, stressed their nations would continue their "unwavering" support of Ukraine and demand "clear commitments" from Russia.
In his nightly address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of prolonging the war.
"This proposal could have been implemented long ago," he said, adding that "every day in wartime means human lives".
Meanwhile, the UK and France have urged Putin to prove he wants a peace deal with Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the "courage" of Zelensky in agreeing to a ceasefire proposal, and challenged Russia to do the same.
"Enough deaths. Enough lives destroyed. Enough destruction. The guns must fall silent," Macron said in a post on X.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Putin should agree to a "full and unconditional ceasefire now", telling MPs he had seen "no sign" that Putin was serious about a peace deal.
He warned that the UK and its allies had "more cards that we can play" to help force Russia to negotiate "seriously".
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