President Donald Trump is now speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, the White House said.
The call, which began at 10 a.m. ET, is ‘going well, and still in progress,’ White House spokesman Dan Scavino said at 10:54 a.m. ET. He added at 11:32 a.m. that it is still ongoing.
It comes after Trump said last night that ‘Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.’
‘Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW. I look very much forward to the call with President Putin,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the two leaders would speak about the war in Ukraine but that there are a ‘large number of questions’ regarding normalizing U.S.-Russia relations, according to The Associated Press.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Monday that ‘the ball is now in Russia’s court’ to accept a U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal that Ukraine agreed to last week.
The U.S.-backed proposal, which includes an immediate 30-day ceasefire and guaranteed resumption of U.S. military aid and intelligence to Ukraine, was finalized during diplomatic talks in Saudi Arabia last week.
‘Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate interim 30-day ceasefire to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The ball is now in Russia’s court,’ Bruce said during a State Department briefing.
The last time Trump and Putin spoke was in mid-February.
‘I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects,’ Trump said at the time.
‘We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many!’ Trump continued.
‘We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,’ he also said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.