According to a White House representative, the US and Russia have reached an agreement to suspend attacks on energy infrastructure.
Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, stated that the US and Russia have agreed that Moscow and Kiev should suspend attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.
He made the statement following a phone conversation between Trump and Putin on Tuesday. On March 13, the diplomat had previously had a lengthy conversation with Putin in Moscow.
The envoy emphasized that Putin had accepted Trump’s proposal to stop strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days and supported a ceasefire in the sea.
“Up until recently, we really didn’t have consensus around these two aspects – the energy and infrastructure ceasefire and the Black Sea moratorium on firing – and today we got to that place, and I think it’s a relatively short distance to a full ceasefire from there,” Witkoff stated on Tuesday evening to Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“I’m certainly hopeful that the Ukrainians will agree to it. We have some details to work out, of course,” he added.
“I would commend President Putin for all he did today on that call to move his country close to a final peace deal,” the envoy stated. “And I would give all the credit to President Trump, his election, peace through strength, the perception that there are no alternatives, and the fact that a good peace and lasting peace are important for both sides.”
“It was these two great leaders coming together for the betterment of mankind,” Witkoff stated.
According to the Kremlin’s account of the call, Putin has “immediately” ordered Russian forces to cease attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities. The president reacted “favorably” to the maritime truce proposal and took steps to begin discussions to “further work out specific details of such an agreement,” the Kremlin stated.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday that he supports a maritime ceasefire and a moratorium on strikes on energy facilities in principle, but he will await specifics of the agreement from the American side.
Witkoff informed Fox News that discussions will continue in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday. According to Reuters, it was uncertain whether Ukraine would attend the meeting.
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