Putin agrees to phone call with Trump to discuss Ukraine ceasefire after meeting US envoy, with Russian negotiators ‘cautiously optimistic’

Vladimir Putin has agreed to a phone call with US President Donald Trump to discuss a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine after meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff.

The tyrant Russian leader asked Witkoff to convey Moscow’s thoughts to Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin asked Witkoff late on Thursday to give additional messages to Trump, Peskov told reporters, after the Russian leader said at a news conference that he supported a truce in principle but set out a host of details that need to be clarified before it is agreed.

A possible phone call between Putin and Trump to settle outstanding ceasefire issues could be arranged after Witkoff delivers the messages in Washington, Peskov added.

‘There is an understanding on both sides that such a call is needed,’ the Kremlin spokesman said.

‘There are certainly some grounds for cautious optimism,’ he added of the ceasefire proposal. ‘A lot still needs to be done, but the president has shown solidarity with President Trump’s position.’ 

On Thursday, Putin said that Russia backed the US proposal for a Ukraine ceasefire, but had ‘serious questions’ that he needed to discuss with the United States. 

Putin said he was in ‘favour’ of the proposal of a 30-day ceasefire ‘but that there are nuances’ and that he had ‘serious questions’ about how it would work.

Vladimir Putin (pictured) has agreed to a phone call with US President Donald Trump to discuss the 30-day Ukraine ceasefire 

Putin said he was in ‘favour’ of the proposal of a 30-day ceasefire, but that he had ‘serious questions’ about how it would work. ‘I think we need to talk to our American colleagues… Maybe have a phone call with President Trump and discuss this with him,’ he said

US envoy Steve Witkoff was asked by Putin to convey Moscow’s thoughts to Washington after the pair met

‘I think we need to talk to our American colleagues… Maybe have a phone call with President Trump and discuss this with him,’ he told reporters.

He noted the need to develop a mechanism to control possible breaches of the truce. Another issue, he said, is whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to continue mobilisation and rearmament.

‘We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,’ Putin said.

The Russian president said any ceasefire must lead to ‘long-term peace’.

Now, US officials have said Washington is set to discuss technical issues related to a possible ceasefire next week.

Given the range of issues on the table, and the sharp differences between what Moscow and Kyiv want, it could potentially take weeks or months for the guns to fall silent.

Ukraine, under severe military pressure on parts of the front line three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, has already endorsed the proposal.

Russia’s army has gained battlefield momentum, and analysts say the Russian leader likely will be reluctant to rush into a ceasefire while he feels he has an advantage.

The Russian army, backed by North Korean troops, are now close to completely driving Ukrainian forces from their foothold in Russia’s Kursk border region in what would be a major setback for Kyiv.

This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on March 12, 2025, shows a destroyed building at the site of a strike in Kryvyi Rig

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 12 March 2025

Russia escalates overnight attacks on Ukraine, killing and wounding crew and port workers in Odesa grain ship strike, destroying homes in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and hitting Krivyi Rih 

It comes after Trump vowed during his election campaign to settle the war in 24 hours, but in January he changed that timeframe, voicing hope that peace could be negotiated in six months.

Putin’s apparently amicable tone toward the White House reflects the remarkable shift in US relations with Russia and Ukraine since Trump returned to office in January. 

Former President Joe Biden had sought to isolate Putin.

Trump has threatened both Russia and Ukraine with punitive measures if they do not engage with his peace efforts.

The US leader briefly cut off critical military aid and intelligence sharing in an apparent effort to push Kyiv to enter talks on ending the war but on March 3 lifted the suspension after senior US and Ukrainian officials reported making progress on how to stop the fighting during talks in Saudi Arabia.

Trump said Wednesday that ‘it’s up to Russia now’ as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also had a tense meeting at the White House on February 28 in which Trump questioned whether Ukraine wanted to halt the war.

Tempers flared on all sides during the Oval Office showdown. Trump threatened to abandon Ukraine completely if Zelensky did not agree to his peace terms. He also accused Zelensky of not being grateful.

Zelensky held his own, even showing Trump photos he brought of the devastation to his country, and arguing he had thanked the American people.

Firefighters work at a damaged building after a Russian strike in Akhtyrka, Ukraine on March 13 2025

The yelling match was unlike anything ever seen publicly in the Oval Office. And it played out on TV screens across the world.

‘You’re gambling with World War III,’ Trump bellowed Zelensky at one point.

After the contentious meeting Trump announced he had asked Zelensky to leave.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:. ‘It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved.

‘Because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.’

The US President has raised the possibility of tightening sanctions on Russia, though his administration has also repeatedly embraced Kremlin positions on the conflict, including indicating that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO are unlikely to be realised and that it probably will not get back the land that Russia’s army occupies, which amounts to nearly 20 per cent of the country.

Meanwhile, Russian air defences downed four Ukrainian drones attacking the Russian capital early on Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

One damaged the roof of an apartment building a few miles from the Kremlin.

Several other buildings were lightly damaged by drone fragments, but there were no injuries, according to emergency officials.

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