Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy advisor to President Vladimir Putin, announced today that the leaders of Russia and the United States had a "friendly, cordial, and businesslike" phone call. The discussion took place at the initiative of President Donald Trump, who wished to discuss several issues with President Putin before meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida.

"The phone call demonstrated a shared interest in moving towards a peaceful, lasting solution to the Ukraine conflict. The Russian President and his US counterpart both agreed that the ceasefire option initiated by Ukraine and Europe would only prolong the conflict, carrying the risk of renewed fighting", Ushakov stated.

Ushakov argued that Ukraine needs to make a "courageous decision" to immediately withdraw troops from the Donbass region, which includes the Donetsk and Lugansk provinces, in line with discussions between the US and Russia to end the conflict. "Given the current situation on the battlefield, such a decision by Ukraine is logical", he added.

President Putin (left) and his counterpart Trump in Alaska on 15/8. Photo: AFP

Russia currently controls 90% of the Donbass region, 70% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces, the entire Crimea peninsula, and some areas in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkov, and Sumy provinces.

"President Trump listened attentively to Russia's assessment of the real prospects for reaching a peace agreement. He consistently pursued the idea that ending the conflict as soon as possible is necessary, and also mentioned the impressive prospects for economic cooperation opening up between the US, Russia, and Ukraine", the Kremlin official reported.

According to Ushakov, President Putin agreed to establish two specialized working groups to address the conflict: one group focusing on security issues and the other on economic aspects. The Russian and US leaders will speak again after the meeting between President Trump and his counterpart Zelensky.

In a social media post on the same day, President Trump confirmed "a very good and productive phone call with Putin" before meeting Ukraine's leader. However, US officials have not yet released details of the call's content.

This marked the ninth phone call between the US and Russian leaders since Trump took office in January. According to the Financial Times, this activity raised concerns among Ukrainian officials, as it was held immediately before the meeting between Trump and Zelensky.

President Zelensky arrived at the Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on 28/12 and held talks with his counterpart Trump for nearly three hours. Speaking at a joint press conference after the talks, President Trump stated that he had a "great meeting" with his counterpart Zelensky, and the two sides discussed many issues.

President Zelensky announced that Washington and Kiev had reached an agreement on ensuring Ukraine's security. Trump was more cautious, suggesting the agreement on this issue was only about 95% complete and expressing hope that European countries would shoulder most of the responsibility with US backing.

Both leaders acknowledged that they had not reached a consensus on the future of the Donbass region, including the Donetsk and Lugansk provinces. "It's not resolved, but it's getting a lot closer. This is a very difficult issue", Trump said.

Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, RIA Novosti, Reuters)