Washington: Moments after Russia and Ukraine agreed to a limited ceasefire after calls with President Donald Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that a "lasting ceasefire" is in the works and that the two sides have never been closer to peace.
"Right now, we're at a partial ceasefire. But again, the President is sending his highly-skilled, intelligent, and experienced team to Saudi Arabia later this week to continue fighting for peace in this conflict. And I would just reiterate one more time: we have never been closer to peace than we are today," she said.
In a social media post on Truth Social, Trump said the call was to “align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs” as he seeks to bring about a ceasefire between the two countries. “We are very much on track,” Trump added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the phone call as "positive, very substantive, and frank" -- away from media glare and attention. He asked Trump for additional air defense support to protect civilians from Russian attacks and the US President said he would help locate the equipment in Europe, the White House said.
Following the call, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed confidence, hoping for a lasting peace deal soon. "We are now at that place where we are talking about that. So we've moved beyond just the economic minerals deal framework, and we're looking at a lasting ceasefire," she added.
Zelenskyy thanked Trump for US support and that technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
