Key Takeaways
- Trump and Zelensky agree to a partial ceasefire against energy in Ukraine.
- The ceasefire will include a meeting of technical teams in Saudi Arabia to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea.
- The partial ceasefire is a step towards a full ceasefire in Ukraine, but the details are still unclear.
Washington: The White House said U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on Wednesday agreed to “a partial ceasefire against energy” between Russia and Ukraine.
The phone call came one day after Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday in their phone talks that the peace in Ukraine “will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire” in Ukraine.
U.S. and Ukraine’s “technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea on the way to a full ceasefire” in Ukraine, said a statement signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Trump and Zelensky discussed the situation in Kursk and “agreed to share information closely between their defence staffs as the battlefield situation evolved,” said the statement.
During the phone conversation, Zelensky asked for additional air defence systems, particularly Patriot missile systems, and “President Trump agreed to work with him to find what was available particularly in Europe,” said the statement.
Trump also discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants with Zelensky and told the latter, “The United States could be very helpful in running those plants. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.”
Zelensky wrote on X after speaking to Trump, “One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.”
However, the White House statement on Wednesday did not mention that the partial ceasefire would apply to civilian infrastructure as Zelensky suggested.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed at a press briefing later on Wednesday that all intelligence sharing between the United States and Ukraine will continue.
