Investing.com -- The White House said Tuesday that US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to seek a limited ceasesire on energy and infrastructure targets for 30 days.
"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 (NYSE:SE), full ceasefire and permanent peace," according to a readout of President Donald J. Trump’s call with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
“These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East,” the White House said. The US-Ukraine are also set for immediate talks in Middle East.
While the ceasefire is narrow in scope, Trump suggested that it would form a basis toward a complete ceasefire.
"We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine," Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday.
Trump and Putin had been speaking since 10 a.m. ET. The two sides also “agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the US and Russia has huge upside,” with “enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability.”
In sign of willingness from both sides to normalize relations, Trump also backed Putin’s idea to organise hockey matches in the United States and Russia.
Ahead of the discussion, Trump said "many elements" of a peace agreement were in place, although he conceded that "much remains" to worked out. The prospect of a deal -- and the potential lifting of longstanding sanctions on Russian energy -- could push down European gas prices and give some lift to the euro.
Over the weekend, Trump noted that he would talk about "land" and "power plants" with Putin, adding that they were already negotiating "dividing up certain assets."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an address on Monday that "this proposal could have implemented long ago" and spared "human lives."