EU hopes Trump-Putin talk is progress towards peace

President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen have reacted to the phone call between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Costa and von der Leyen said on X that a comprehensive, fair and lasting peace in Ukraine should be the result of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

They expressed hope that "yesterday’s phone call is progress in this direction".

"We remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine," they assured.

On 18 March, after a telephone conversation between the US and Russian leaders, it became During a conversation with Trump, Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin once again rejected the US proposal for a 30-day complete ceasefire, which Ukraine had previously agreed to. Instead, he backed a commitment from both parties to "refrain" from attacking energy facilities for 30 days.

The parties also agreed to discuss "the safety of shipping in the Black Sea" and to set up Russian and American expert groups to discuss the "Ukrainian settlement".

Following the conversation, the White House said that peace talks on the Russo-Ukrainian war should "begin immediately in the Middle East".

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy stressed that Putin had effectively rejected the proposal for a complete ceasefire by launching a large-scale drone attack on Ukrainian cities on the night of 18-19 March.

Zelenskyy also said that on Wednesday, 19 March, he would have a telephone conversation with the US President.