Camille Naredo

US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Mandel Ngan, AFP/Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik via AFP

US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Article (news)

USA-RUSSIA

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1742139500481031625_trump putin.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="US President Donald Trump and Russia&#x27;s President Vladimir Putin. Mandel Ngan, AFP/Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik via AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">US President Donald Trump and Russia&#x27;s President Vladimir Putin. <em>Mandel Ngan, AFP/Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik via AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week, officials said on Sunday, as Washington and Kyiv&#x27;s European allies press Moscow to accept a ceasefire in the three-year war.</p><p>The United States this week proposed a halt in fighting in the war after talks in Saudi Arabia, with Kyiv accepting the proposal.</p><p>Putin however has given no clear answer, instead listing a string of conditions and raising &quot;serious questions&quot; over the proposition.</p><p>Trump&#x27;s envoy for the conflict, Steve Witkoff, who met for several hours with Putin days ago, told CNN in a televised interview that he thinks &quot;the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week.&quot;</p><p>Earlier Moscow said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and that the pair had discussed &quot;concrete aspects of the implementation of understandings&quot; at a US-Russia summit in Saudi Arabia last month.</p><p>Ukraine&#x27;s Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday accused the Kremlin of not wanting to end the war and warned that Moscow wanted to first &quot;improve their situation on the battlefield&quot; before agreeing to any ceasefire.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/3/15/ukraine-s-zelenskiy-says-efforts-moving-towards-end-of-war-1852">READ: Ukraine&#x27;s Zelenskiy says efforts moving towards end of war</a></div><p>The February Riyadh gathering was the first high-level meeting between the United States and Russia since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.</p><p>&quot;Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio agreed to remain in contact,&quot; the Russian foreign ministry said, with no mention of the US-suggested ceasefire.</p><p>State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Saturday that the pair had &quot;discussed the next steps&quot; on Ukraine.</p><p>She also said Rubio and Lavrov &quot;agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia&quot;.</p><p>The Lavrov-Rubio call came hours after the UK hosted a virtual summit on Ukraine, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer accusing Putin of &quot;dragging his feet&quot; on the ceasefire.</p><p>&quot;The &#x27;yes, but&#x27; from Russia is not good enough,&quot; Starmer said, calling for a stop to the &quot;barbaric attacks on Ukraine once and for all&quot;.</p><p>Kyiv the next day said Russia launched 90 Iranian-made Shahed drones onto nine Ukrainian regions.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/3/14/russia-committed-crimes-against-humanity-in-ukraine-un-probe-0039">READ: Russia &#x27;committed crimes against humanity&#x27; in Ukraine -- UN probe</a></div><div><strong>- Zelensky says Putin &#x27;lying&#x27; -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1g-qWMJhNKE?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>In his reaction to the ceasefire earlier this week, Putin said the initiative would benefit primarily Ukraine and not Russian forces, who he said are &quot;advancing&quot; in many areas.</p><p>He raised &quot;serious questions&quot; over the initiative.</p><p>The proposal came as Russia -- which occupies swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine -- has had momentum in some areas of the front.</p><p>It has ousted Ukrainian forces from parts of its Kursk region, where Kyiv hopes to hold onto Russian territory as a potential bargaining chip in any future negotiations.</p><p>Putin said he wanted to discuss Moscow&#x27;s concerns with Trump in a phone call.</p><p>Zelensky said Saturday that by not agreeing to the ceasefire, Putin was also going against Trump -- who has made overtures towards Russia -- and accused Moscow of trying to find ways not to end the war.</p><p>He accused Putin of &quot;lying about how a ceasefire is supposedly too complicated&quot;.</p><p>Ukraine said Sunday that one person was killed by a Russian drone strike on the city of Izyum -- in the Kharkiv region, which fell to Russia at the start of its Ukraine invasion before being retaken by Kyiv&#x27;s forces.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>The United States this week proposed a halt in fighting in the war after talks in Saudi Arabia, with Kyiv accepting the proposal.</p>

The United States this week proposed a halt in fighting in the war after talks in Saudi Arabia, with Kyiv accepting the proposal.

Trump, Putin to discuss Ukraine this week

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

World

Trump, Putin to discuss Ukraine this week

Agence France-Presse

Published Mar 17, 2025 12:10 AM PHT

Read More:

United States

Russia

Ukraine

diplomacy

Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

Marco Rubio

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.