Washington, March 19 (IANS) Ukranian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to a partial ceasefire in the war against Russia that was discussed by US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the White House said on Wednesday.
Trump briefed Zelensky on a phone call about his conversation with Putin on Tuesday.
The two leaders “agreed on a partial ceasefire against energy”, Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson said from a readout of Trump and Zelensky’s phone call to be issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
“Technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss broadening the cease fire to the Black Sea on the way to a full cease fire,” Levitt said further, adding, “They agreed this could be the first step toward the full end of the war in ensuring security.”
While President Trump had earlier proposed a 30-day ceasefire, which was accepted by President Zelenskyy, he and President Putin agreed instead on a limited ceasefire regarding only the energy and infrastructure sectors.
Levitt described the Wednesday phone call between Trump and Zelensky as “fantastic”.
“President Trump fully briefed President Zelensky on his conversation with Putin and the key issues discussed. They reviewed the situation in Kursk and agreed to share information closely between their defense staffs as the battlefield situation evolved. President Zelensky asked for additional air defense systems to protect his civilians, particularly Patriot missile systems. And President Trump agreed to work with him to find what was available, particularly in Europe,” Levitt said.
She added: “President Zelensky was grateful for the President’s leadership in this effort, and reiterated his willingness to adopt a full ceasefire. President Trump also discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants. He said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.”
–IANS
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