Trump believes a ceasefire in Ukraine in the not-too-distant future is achievable

A ceasefire in Ukraine may be achieved in the not-too-distant future. This was stated by US President Donald Trump on February 12 during his speech at the swearing-in ceremony for Tulsi Gibbard as the new US Director of National Intelligence at the White House.

"At some point, we will probably come to a ceasefire in the not-too-distant future", RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

Sense of contact: Putin and Trump agree on diplomatic solution to Ukraine crisis

In an hour and a half, they also discussed prisoner exchanges, the situation in the Middle East and the Iran nuclear deal

Earlier in the day, Trump said he planned to meet with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia. Trump also said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud may attend the meeting.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Trump discussed many topics in their phone conversation, such as the exchange of Russian and US citizens, the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and the situation in the Middle East. The two presidents agreed that it is possible to achieve long-term peace in Ukraine only through peaceful negotiations. The Russian leader in his conversation with his US counterpart emphasized that the root causes of the conflict should be eliminated.

Trump, in turn, shared that he is united with Putin in the opinion that Washington and Moscow can get great benefits from working together. The American leader called the conversation productive and expressed hope that the dialog on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will be successful.

The US president gave an interview to Fox News on February 11, where he said that his team had close contacts with representatives of Russia and Ukraine, which helped achieve significant progress in working toward a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.

Putin has repeatedly reminded that Russia has never given up on peace talks, but they should be conducted on the basis of the provisions agreed upon in Istanbul, not on the basis of "ephemeral demands."

The last round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow. On October 4, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his term of office expired on May 20, 2024) enforced the decision of the country's National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.