[RIA] Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov revealed details of Vladimir Putin's phone call with his American counterpart, Donald Trump. RIA Novosti reports the key details.
The meeting was organized at Trump's initiative; he wanted to discuss several issues with Putin before his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.
The conversation lasted one hour and 15 minutes and was friendly, benevolent and businesslike in nature.
"It was characterized by a mutual interest in moving towards a peaceful, long-term settlement of the Ukrainian conflict."
Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov answers journalists' questions during a press briefing following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Presidential Special Envoy Steven Wittkoff.
Putin argued to Trump that it was fundamentally important to continue to rely on the understandings reached in Anchorage and during bilateral contacts.
The presidents share similar views that a temporary ceasefire under the pretext of a referendum will only prolong the conflict.
Trump stated that he was convinced of Russia's desire for a political and diplomatic resolution to the situation.
"It is with this in mind that he intends to structure today's negotiations with Zelensky."
Putin agreed with the American leader's proposal to continue work on a settlement within the framework of two specially created working groups: one on security and one on economic issues.
To finally end the fighting, Kyiv needs a political solution regarding Donbas.
The leaders agreed to talk after Trump's contacts with Zelensky.
This was the ninth phone call between Putin and Trump since the start of the White House's second term. The two leaders' previous and longest conversation took place on October 16. At that time, they placed particular emphasis on the Ukrainian crisis. The Russian president emphasized Moscow's commitment to a diplomatic solution.
In early December, Vladimir Putin received US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin. The two sides discussed the essence of the peace initiative but were unable to find a compromise.
As the president later stated, Washington divided the 27 points of the original plan into four packages and proposed to discuss them separately. He clarified that he had reviewed almost every one of them, and there were issues with which Moscow disagreed.
A few days later, a meeting between US and Ukrainian delegations took place in Berlin. Following the meeting, Western countries reportedly agreed to provide security guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO Charter. In exchange, the Americans demanded that Kyiv make territorial concessions, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Says Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin
A bold political decision
Ushakov on the Putin-Trump talks.
1. The conversation was organized at Trump's initiative; he wanted to discuss a number of issues with Putin before meeting with Zelensky.
2. It lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes and was friendly, benevolent, and businesslike in nature.
3. Putin argued to Trump the fundamental importance of continuing to rely on the understandings reached in Anchorage and during bilateral contacts.
4. The presidents share similar views that a temporary ceasefire under the pretext of a referendum only prolongs the conflict.
5. Trump was convinced of Russia's desire for a political and diplomatic settlement of the situation.
6. Putin agreed with Trump's proposal to continue work on the settlement within the framework of two specially created working groups - on security and economic issues.
7. The leaders agreed to talk after Trump's contacts with Zelensky.
8. A final cessation of hostilities requires a political solution from Kyiv regarding Donbas. A bold political decision - to boldly get the hell out of Donbass.