Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the media that his telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump lasted more than two hours, TASS reports.
"The conversation took place, it lasted more than two hours," Putin said. "It was very substantive and very frank, and on the whole, in my opinion, in this regard, very useful," the Russian leader added.
This telephone conversation between the leaders of Russia and the United States was the third since the beginning of the year.
The Kremlin said that it was "an important conversation in the wake of the talks held in Istanbul." Three days earlier in Istanbul, the direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine resumed. It was interrupted in 2022 by Kiev's initiative at the West's suggestion. Now the Russian and Ukrainian delegations have agreed to exchange prisoners of war - 1,000 for 1,000, to present their vision of a possible future ceasefire, spelling it out in detail, and to continue the negotiation process.
The previous conversation between the Russian and US presidents took place on March 18 and was mainly devoted to bilateral relations and the Ukrainian settlement. Putin then supported Trump's idea to introduce a 30-day moratorium on strikes on energy facilities. However, Kiev never joined the initiative and continued bombardments. The same happened to the ceasefires announced by Russia for Easter and Victory Day holidays.
During their conversation on February 12, Putin and Trump discussed Ukrainian issues, as well as the accumulated problems in Russia-US relations. The presidents agreed to continue communication and to organizing a personal meeting.
