Russia agrees to stop attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure for 30 days

On March 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump had a second phone call, lasting a record nearly 2 hours.

Immediately after the phone call ended, the Kremlin issued a statement on the results of the phone call, which included many positive agreements.

Having affirmed his fundamental commitment to a peaceful solution to the conflict, President Putin stated his readiness to cooperate with the United States to thoroughly explore possible ways to achieve a comprehensive, sustainable and long-term solution. Of course, Moscow must take into account the need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, and ensure Russia’s legitimate interests in the security sphere.

President Putin also agreed to the initiative of a 30-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure and immediately ordered the military to do so.

As a gesture of goodwill, the Russian President announced a major prisoner exchange on March 19, returning 23 seriously wounded soldiers to Ukraine.

However, Russia has outlined a number of key details surrounding the future ceasefire, stressing the need to halt forced mobilization and rearmament of the Ukrainian army.

Russia pointed out serious risks associated with Kiev's non-negotiation nature, pointing to Kiev's sabotage of negotiations and violations of previous agreements.

The Russian President stressed that the key condition to prevent the escalation of the conflict must be a complete cessation of foreign military assistance and intelligence provision to Kiev.

During the meeting, the two leaders expressed their common interest in normalizing bilateral relations, taking into account their special responsibility for world security. The two sides discussed preventing the proliferation of strategic weapons in the world.

The two leaders agreed to immediately begin negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and that the move toward peace would begin with a ceasefire on energy and infrastructure facilities.

The Russian President also responded constructively to President Donald Trump's idea of ​​implementing an initiative related to shipping safety in the Black Sea.

The two sides agreed to begin negotiations to work out further details for the agreement.

According to the Kremlin statement, during the phone call, President Putin and President Trump also mentioned many other issues on the international agenda, including the situation in the Middle East and the Red Sea region.

The two sides agreed to make joint efforts to stabilize the situation in the crisis zone and establish cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation and global security issues. This will contribute to improving the general atmosphere in Russian-American relations.

The two sides also expressed common interests in normalizing bilateral relations based on the special responsibility of Russia and the United States in ensuring security and stability in the world.

In this context, a wide range of areas in which the two countries could cooperate were considered. Several ideas were discussed towards developing mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic and energy fields.

The US leader also supported the Russian President's idea of ​​organizing hockey matches in the US and Russia between players from the two countries playing in major hockey leagues.

The two leaders also agreed to continue communication on all issues raised.