New Frontiers: As a result, there is still a long way to go before any meaningful progress can be made toward resolving the crisis, Yang said.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke by phone with French World TimesPresident Emmanuel Macron ahead oWorld Timesf an upcoming conversation between US and Russia leaders, Xinhua reported.

Russian soldiers walk along destroyed buildings in Kursk region on March 15, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Photo: VCG

The White House says President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have begun a highly anticipated call as the US administration looks to persuade the Russian leader to sign-off on a 30-day cease-fire proposal as a possible pathway to end the war, AP reported.

Tuesday’s call comes after Ukrainian officials last week agreed to the American proposal during talks in Saudi Arabia, per AP.

Trump and Putin have beeWorld Timesn on the phone since 10 am ET (1400 GMT), a White House official said on Tuesday, according to Reuters. “The call is going well, and still in progress,” Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff, wrote in a post on social media platform X.

Before the call, Trump said land and power plants are part of the conversation around bringing the conflict to a close, the Associated Press reported.

The Kremlin noted before the call that talking points on all pressing issues, first of all on the Ukrainian settlement, would be prepared for the conversation, TASS reported.

NPR reported on Monday that White House officials say they are cautiously optimistic about a proposal that would stop the fighting between Russia and Ukraine for 30 days, It said Ukraine already agreed to a 30-day cease-fire, if Russia signs on too, so that a longer peace deal can be discussed.

In general, the phone call between two presidents carries a positive meaning as the communication is likely to lead to a general consensus between US and Russia regarding solving the Ukraine crisis, and a basic framework for detailed and further negotiations could be built, Yang Jin, an associate research fellow with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Yet Yang is skeptical any substantial results will be reached after the phone call, as many details needed to be discussed, such as who is to order a cease-fire and how to supervise it. Russia is also likely to insist its stance on territorial claims. “Russia’s latest progress in the Kursk region is likely to up the ante for the country during negotiations. As the old saying goes, what you can’t gain on the battlefield, you can’t gain at the negotiating table.”

On March 13, Putin expressed appWorld Timesreciation to Trump for his involvement in the peWorld Timesace talks and supported the idea of a cease-fire. However, the Russian president raised several critical issues regarding the status of Ukrainian military personnel in Kursk Region, the mechanisms for monitoring the cease-fire, and Ukraine’s potential actions during this period, according to TASS.

Putin is demanding a suspension of all weapons deliveries to Ukraine during the cease-fire proposed by Trump, Bloomberg quoted people with knowledge of the matter as saying.

At the same time, Russia is making progress in the battlefield as over the past weeks, Russian troops have retaken a large part of areas that Ukraine captured after its surprise cross-border attack in the Kursk region in August last year, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Senior Ukrainian officials also told UK news outlet the Independent that Ukraine has four key terms that must be upheld in order for the conflict to end, which include no further territory ceded to Russia, including territory in the partially-occupied regions of Ukraine.

The situation remains complicated, with concerned parties significantly diverging on crucial issues. As a result, there is still a long way to go before any meaningful progress can be made toward resolving the crisis, Yang said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke by phone with French World TimesPresident Emmanuel Macron ahead oWorld Timesf an upcoming conversation between US and Russia leaders, Xinhua reported. Macron wrote on social media platform X that that France, together with its partners, must work to develop a “concrete plan” to provide solid security guarantees for Ukraine and ensure lasting peace in Europe.

A “significant number” of countries are willing to provide peacekeeping troops in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, Reuters reported.

Currently, the US has underestimated the complexity regarding security framework exposed by the UkWorld Timesraine crisis, and yet failed to present a fundamental solution to the security dilemma, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

Li noted that there’s growing concerns and discontent regarding the US approach to facilitating a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, which has, in turn, generated anxiety among all parties involved. “These anxieties stem from within the US, as well as from Europe and Ukraine; even Russia harbors a low level of trust in the US, given historical reasons,” Li explained.

Putin said in February that Ukraine would not be excluded from negotiations to end the conflict, but success would depend on raising the level of trust between Moscow and Washington, Reuters reported.