BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 18. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin held a phone talk, the White House said, Trend reports.
"Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need
for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed
this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace. They also stressed
the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States
and Russia. The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia
have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs
of their people.
This conflict should never have started and should have been ended
long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts. The leaders
agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and
infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on
implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full
ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin
immediately in the Middle East.
The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of
potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts. They further
discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and
will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible
application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never
be in a position to destroy Israel.
The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral
relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside.
This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability
when peace has been achieved," the statement reads.