Moscow, Mar 17 (EFE).- The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are set to hold a telephonic conversation on Tuesday.
It follows Trump’s recent statement about his plans to speak with Putin.
“Yes, that is indeed the case. The conversation is being prepared for Tuesday,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during his daily press briefing.
Peskov was responding to Trump’s statement on Sunday, in which he said he planned to speak with Putin on Mar. 18.
Last week, Putin expressed his willingness to discuss concerns surrounding the proposed 30-day truce in Ukraine, which Kyiv has already accepted.
While Russia has voiced support for a ceasefire, Putin has raised concerns about its implementation, verification, and the possibility of Kyiv using the pause to regroup and rearm.
“We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening. “Maybe we can. Maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”
Trump expressed optimism about Putin’s potential approval of the ceasefire plan, saying he would agree. “I think I know him quite well and that he will agree.”
However, he warned that if Putin rejects the truce, it would be “bad news for the world, because many people are dying.”
Trump also urged Putin to show leniency toward Ukrainian troops still resisting in Russia’s Kursk region. Putin reportedly responded that their lives would be spared if they surrendered but labeled them as “terrorists.”
Putin and Trump last spoke on February 12, when they agreed to initiate a negotiation process to end the conflict in Ukraine. EFE
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