Summary

  1. Putin agrees to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, Kremlin sayspublished at 17:49 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March
    Breaking

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    Putin supports Trump's idea for Ukraine and Russia to stop attacking energy infrastructure for 30 days, the Kremlin says in its read out of the leaders' call.

    Russia has repeatedly damaged Ukraine's energy grid since its invasion in February 2022.

  2. Putin and Trump spoke about the need for a ceasefire, White House sayspublished at 17:40 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Bernd Debusmann Jr
    Reporting from the White House

    Some more details now from the read out of the phone call between President Trump and President Putin from the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt.

    In a post on X, Leavitt says that the two "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 statement says, adding that both sides hope for better relations between the US 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 adds. "This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts."

    The two also discussed an end to the proliferation of strategic weapons and tensions between Israel and Iran.

    "The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside," the statement adds. "This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved."

  3. Fresh Ukraine talks to start 'immediately' in Middle East: White Housepublished at 17:37 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Let's bring you some details from the White House's take on the phone call.

    According to the White House's recently released read out, the leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire.

    They also agreed to technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, a full ceasefire and permanent peace.

    "These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East," it adds.

  4. First details emerge on Trump-Putin phone call, Kremlin sayspublished at 17:27 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March
    Breaking

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    We're now getting some updates from the Kremlin, which has provided a brief overview of Trump and Putin's call.

    The two presidents continue their detailed and frank exchange of opinions on the situation around Ukraine, the Kremlin says.

    Both Trump and Putin have expressed their mutual interest in normalising their relations in light of the special responsibility for ensuring global security.

  5. When can we expect to hear details on the Trump-Putin call?published at 16:56 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Bernd Debusmann Jr
    Reporting from the White House

    Now the call has ended, we're likely to receive a "read-out" from the White House, although traditionally these statements are terse and do not provide many details.

    At 15:30 EST (19:30 GMT), Trump is scheduled to sign executive orders.

    At the moment, this event is closed to the press, although often similar signings are made accessible to the press "pool" and turn into extended question-and-answer sessions.

    If this happens, we're likely to hear from Trump himself about how it went.

    We'll also be monitoring Trump's Truth Social media accounts and waiting to see if other officials make appearances here at the White House.

    Stay with us for more updates.

  6. Trump-Putin call endspublished at 16:40 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March
    Breaking

    Donald Trump's call with Vladimir Putin has now ended, according to White House officials speaking to the BBC's US partner CBS.

    We'll bring you more details from their call when we have it - stick with us.

  7. Putin said 'Western dominance is slipping away' ahead of Trump callpublished at 16:27 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    Putin looks ahead and sits behind a microphone on stage wearing a suit.Image source, REUTERS POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
    Image caption,

    Putin also criticised the use of sanctions on Russia ahead of his phone call with Trump

    Putin's address at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs earlier today was generally anti-Western in nature. In it, he spoke about “Western dominance slipping away and new centres of global growth emerging”.

    According to the Russian president, “this is a long-term trend”.

    Putin, who spoke ahead of the call with Trump, was also dismissive of the G7 group of advanced economies – or the Big Seven, as it is known in Russian.

    “Why is it big? No matter where you look on the map, you can’t see it,” he said, as the audience erupted in applause.

    President Putin also accused the West of putting undue and unfair pressure on Russia, particularly by imposing sanctions.

    “Even if the other side makes a gesture of some sort, lifting or relaxing something, you can expect them to find another way or putting pressure or putting a spoke in our wheel,” Putin said.

  8. Analysis

    Ukraine wants Putin to prove he's serious about peacepublished at 16:13 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Sarah Rainsford
    Eastern Europe correspondent

    Zelensky gestures while he speaks, wearing a black top.Image source, Reuters

    Ukraine signed up to an unconditional ceasefire because it was under huge pressure from the US. But Kyiv also wanted to shift the spotlight onto Russia: to test Vladimir Putin’s actual commitment to peace.

    So far, it’s gone just as Kyiv expected.

    From Russia there are no concessions, only demands. There’s the big ones, like barring Ukraine from Nato for life. But the Kremlin has also been quibbling over the practicalities of a ceasefire, insisting Russia can only agree if there’s a way to police it.

    “Diplomacy is a process of untangling wires, gradually”, the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta warned today. Even getting to “the first phase” of the deal is very difficult, it said.

    On state TV there was more cautioning against swift results sprinkled with a little mockery of just how often Trump has mentioned his upcoming call to Putin.

    Some Russia-watchers warn the US president may have limited patience for Russia’s stalling – and begin to pile on the pressure. But he’s shown no sign of that yet.

    On the contrary, so much has already shifted in Moscow’s favour, so quickly, even many Russians still can’t quite believe it.

  9. Zelensky arrives in Finland for talks on military supportpublished at 16:05 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    Zelensky and the First Lady Olena Zelenska in the back of a car in FinlandImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Zelensky and Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska arrived in Finland as Trump held a phone call with Putin on the war

    Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Finland for talks on military assistance.

    In a post on Telegram, the Ukrainian president says he’ll be meeting his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb, the country's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and defence industry representatives.

    The Finnish presidency confirmed talks will be held at the presidential palace on Wednesday.

    The meetings will focus on “defences support, investment in weapons production in Ukraine and Ukraine’s European integration”, Zelensky says.

  10. Putin-Trump call still ongoingpublished at 15:46 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Bernd Debusmann Jr
    Reporting from the White House

    Outside of the White House

    We've just had another update from Dan Scavino, the White House's Deputy Chief of Staff.

    "Update: Call still in progress," Savino said in a very brief post on X.

    We've still not had any further updates from other White House officials, but Savino's update suggests the two leaders have been on a call for at least 90 minutes.

    Once it concludes, we're likely to get a read-out of the call, although those are short and do not provide many details.

    Here at the White House, the briefing room and "pebble beach" - where TV reporters do their live shots - are now getting increasingly crowded, although most reporters are just waiting for updates on both the Trump-Putin call and the resumption of Israeli military operations in Gaza.

  11. Analysis

    How much progress has been made on the ceasefire deal? It depends who you askpublished at 15:39 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Tom Bateman
    US State Department correspondent

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to reporters in the briefing room of the White HouseImage source, EPA

    It is worth remembering the inconsistencies between various members of the administration about how far advanced things actually are on any ceasefire.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Jeddah last week his meeting with the Ukrainians was not at the level of “sitting in a room drawing lines on a map”, rather it was to get a general sense of what concessions were “in the realm of the possible”, before gaging Russian intentions.

    And yet Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said yesterday they were on the on “10th yard line” of a deal.

    Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff was circumspect about the nature of progress over the weekend. Yet the president himself has spoken in terms of apparent specifics being discussed with Moscow - “land” and “power plants” - and says there’s a very good chance of reaching a deal.

    Whatever the realities, it’s clear there has not been the kind of painstaking work and confidence-building you would usually get into the run up to any ceasefire implementation.

  12. Trump-Putin call is second known time leaders have spoken since Januarypublished at 15:25 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Donald Trump speaking on the phone to Putin from his desk in the Oval Office.Image source, Getty Images

    Trump was only five days into his second term when he made a series of phone calls with world leaders, including one with Russian President Vladimir Putin and another with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

    The Kremlin said it was a "positive and constructive" conversation after the two leaders agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

    Unlike in January, where news of the call took the world by surprise, this time round leaders involved in peace negotiations have had a chance to chat with Trump before the call.

    French President Macron and UK Prime Minister Starmer confirmed that they spoke with Trump earlier this week, with the latter telling Trump Ukraine must be put in the "strongest possible position".

    Stick with us as we bring you the latest lines from the Trump-Putin phone call.

  13. Trump-Putin call under way and 'going well' - White Housepublished at 15:08 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March
    Breaking

    Bernd Debusmann Jr
    Reporting from the White House

    The call between Trump and Putin has started, a senior White House official has confirmed.

    In a tweet, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino said that Trump is "currently" talking to Putin, with the call starting at 10:00 EDT (14:00 GMT).

    "The call is going well, and still in progress," he said.

    Just moments before Scavino posted, White House staffers said they were unsure whether the call was taking place.

    We're likely to hear remarks from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt outside the West Wing of the White House at some point after the call.

  14. US waits for details on Trump-Putin callpublished at 14:47 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Bernd Debusmann Jr
    Reporting from the White House

    Good morning from the White House as it approaches 11:00 in Washington. Things are relatively quiet despite global headlines being dominated by news coming out of both the Middle East and Ukraine.

    At the moment, there is only a small - but growing - trickle of reporters coming in and taking seats at desks in the cold basement, or the empty briefing room. Outside, a few are doing TV lives under green tents.

    The phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is not on the White House's public schedule for the president, and it's unclear when that will happen. Trump had previously said he would speak to Putin this morning, but did not specify a time.

    As we've reported, Putin was just at a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow.

    We've so far not heard anything about that call, whether it's happened or how it went, from US officials or Trump himself.

  15. Timing of Putin's appearance on stage coincides with Trump callpublished at 14:26 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    Putin walks on stage in a suit. The podium has microphones and there is a blue backdrop on stage.Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
    Image caption,

    Putin criticised Western sanctions on Russia at the meeting earlier today

    The timing of Vladimir Putin’s appearance at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs meeting in Moscow was interesting.

    He arrived there about half an hour before the time slot, during which his telephone conversation with Trump was expected to take place - 13:00-15:00 GMT, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

    At 13:52, Russian state news agency Tass said President Putin left the venue.

    It is easy to see this timing as a message saying, 'I’ve got more important things to do, you can wait'.

    In the past, Putin has on numerous occasions been late to key meetings, such as his own press conferences, and made others wait.

    Last Thursday, US envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly arrived in Moscow shortly after noon local time, but was only able to meet Putin late in the evening.

    Donald Trump later dismissed speculation by people he called “sick degenerates, external” in the media that his envoy was made to wait for hours.

  16. What are Putin's conditions for a ceasefire?published at 14:12 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    A close up of Putin's face - he looks to the rightImage source, Reuters

    At a news conference last week, Putin said the idea of a 30-day ceasefire proposal was "right and we support it... but there are nuances".

    Some of the Russian leader's questions about the proposal included how the ceasefire would be enforced and who would order an end to the fighting.

    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?"

    The Kremlin later said it shared the US's "cautious optimism" over a peace process, after Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff.

    However, Zelensky branded Putin's response as "manipulative" and called for more sanctions on Russia.

    Putin "doesn't say no directly", Zelensky said in his nightly video address, but "in practice, he's preparing a rejection".

  17. Putin's live broadcast finishes ahead of expected Trump callpublished at 13:46 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    The live broadcast with Vladimir Putin has now ended, but it’s not clear if the Russian president will be spending any more time at the venue.

    Before it finished, Putin was asked at the meeting about the telephone conversation with Trump - which according to Putin’s own spokesman is due to take place by 18:00 Moscow time (15:00 GMT).

    The Russian president laughingly responds: “Don’t listen to him!” - referring to Dmitry Peskov.

    Russian industrialists and entrepreneurs laugh and clap their hands.

  18. Putin warns against trusting foreign countries too muchpublished at 13:32 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    Putin speaks behind a microphone alongside the Head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin. Both are wearing suits.Image source, Reuters

    Although we are expecting the call between Trump and Putin between 13:00-15:00 GMT, the Russian leader continues speaking at the meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow.

    He warns them against trusting foreign countries too much.

    Putin asks: “What’s good out there?”

    “They’ve been taking everything away, in a rude and uncivilised manner", he adds - presumably referring to moves to freeze or possibly confiscate Russian assets abroad.

    “I’m not even talking about some legal systems. They simply do not exist. They only exist for them.

    “You can’t trust them. It is necessary to create inside our country a political and legal system which will make sure things are tough, stable and reliable."

  19. Putin rails against sanctions ahead of Trump callpublished at 13:22 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    Putin looks to the side wearing a suit.Image source, Reuters

    As anticipation builds ahead of his crucial phone call with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin is addressing a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow.

    Yet again, he described sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine as “illegitimate”. According to the Russian president, the threat of sanctions will always hang over Russia because “our competitors will always want to contain our country, and weaken its economic and technological possibilities”.

    Earlier today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Putin-Trump call was expected around about now, at 16:00-18:00 Moscow time, or 13:00-15:00 GMT.

    A relaxed-looking Putin is still speaking at the meeting, which is being broadcast by Russian state TV.

  20. Ukraine must be in 'strongest possible position', Keir Starmer sayspublished at 12:53 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March

    Harry Farley
    Political correspondent

    Keir Starmer stands behind a podium with microphones and flags. The sign on the podium reads: 'securing our future'.Image source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Downing Street said Keir Starmer spoke with Donald Trump ahead of the president's phone call with Putin today

    The UK prime minister spoke with Donald Trump last night ahead of the US president's call with Russia's Vladimir Putin today.

    Keir Starmer told Trump that Ukraine must be put in the "strongest possible position" in order to secure a "just and lasting peace" in the war with Russia.

    The prime minister's official spokesperson says Keir Starmer also "updated the president on his coalition of the willing call with international leaders that took place on Saturday."