'Ready to work on memorandum': What else Putin said after conversation with Trump

After the conversation with Trump, Putin stated that it is necessary to "simply determine the most effective ways to move toward peace."

"We agreed with the US president that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum regarding a possible future peace agreement, defining a number of positions," Putin said.

According to him, this concerns the principles of the settlement and the timeline for a possible peace deal.

What else did Putin say?

Putin, for the first time, allowed for a ceasefire for a certain period "in case corresponding agreements are reached." He also believes that the resumption of contacts and negotiations in Istanbul "gives grounds to consider that we are generally on the right track."

The Kremlin leader also considers the conversation with Trump to have been very substantive, quite frank, and useful.

"Once again, I want to emphasize that the discussion was very constructive, and I rate it highly. The question, of course, is for the Russian and Ukrainian sides to show maximum willingness for peace and find compromises that would satisfy all parties," he said.

Putin, as usual, spoke about Russia’s position being unchanged — the main thing is to "eliminate the root causes of this crisis."

Talk between Trump and Putin

Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a two-hour phone conversation after Russia refused an unconditional ceasefire with Ukraine.

During the negotiations in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia, the parties agreed to present their vision of such a truce in writing.

In particular, the media report that Putin demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from four regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Only then will Moscow agree to a ceasefire.

For detailed coverage of the Trump-Putin conversation, see the RBC-Ukraine material.