AILSA CHANG, HOST:
President Trump spoke at length this morning with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The highly anticipated phone call comes as the U.S. president tries to broker a ceasefire to end Russia's war in Ukraine. NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid joins us now for more. Hi, Asma.
ASMA KHALID, BYLINE: Hi there, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so tell us more about what Trump and Putin talked about today.
KHALID: Well, Trump has been trying to reach a truce to end the three-year war in Ukraine, and he got a first step today. The Kremlin said that it'll stop strikes on energy infrastructure for the next 30 days. Now, this discussion did not result in a concrete peace agreement, but the White House issued a statement saying that the U.S. and Russia agreed to start talks toward a ceasefire. And those negotiations will begin immediately out in the Middle East. They referenced not just energy infrastructure, but also negotiations toward implementing a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea.
CHANG: And we should note that Ukraine was not part of this call, right? Like, any word on what Ukraine is thinking about all of this dialogue?
KHALID: Well, we're waiting to hear. We know that, last week, Ukraine had agreed to a broad, month-long ceasefire. And today's phone call was now an effort to convince Russia to agree to that same pause as well. Trump didn't really get there, but the White House is continuing the talks because Trump really wants to end this war. You know, he campaigned on that commitment. He has expressed sympathy about all the bloodshed lost. But he's also complained about the billions and billions of dollars that he said his predecessor, Joe Biden, had sent to assist Ukraine in this war.
CHANG: So Asma, what is the sticking point to a broader deal here?
KHALID: Well, the Kremlin said in a statement today that Moscow wants a long-term settlement. But Putin is also insisting on an end to foreign intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine. One big, additional question that our colleague Charles Maynes, who's based in Russia, points out is that Putin has raised the issue of who will monitor this ceasefire. He does not want any NATO countries to be the monitor here.
And Putin also believes that any long-term agreement has to deal with what he believes is the root of this conflict, and that is NATO's expansion at Russia's borders. He absolutely does not want Ukraine to be a part of NATO ever. And to that point, I mean, Trump has also said that he doesn't think Ukraine's membership into NATO is realistic.
CHANG: Well, what about from Ukraine's side here? Like, what are they holding out for?
KHALID: Well, one major point is that they have wanted security guarantees from the United States and Europe because they don't trust that Putin will stick to his end of the deal. You probably recall that this was a major point for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he met with President Trump last month here at the White House. I mean, I'm sure that you remember that contentious meeting in the Oval Office.
CHANG: Oh, yeah.
KHALID: U.S.-Ukraine talks fell apart then, and the Ukraine delegation was told to leave. But last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's National Security Adviser Michael Waltz went to Saudi Arabia for new, fresh talks with the Ukrainians. And they got Ukraine to agree to a 30-day ceasefire, which was a big development. That's what they're trying to get Russia to sign on to.
CHANG: OK. So what do all of these developments mean ultimately for President Trump, you think?
KHALID: You know, Ailsa, I would say that, as I mentioned, he is eager to end this war. He has been optimistic even about the idea of dividing up assets. Ever since he returned to the White House, broadly, he has changed the conventional wisdom around American foreign policy, and he's been willing to engage directly with Putin, which, you know, frankly, we never saw Biden do during the war. He's also, though, aligned himself much more with Russia philosophically, adopting its viewpoint and blaming Ukraine for starting the war, even though, to be clear, it was Russia who invaded Ukraine.
CHANG: That is NPR's Asma Khalid. Thank you, Asma.
KHALID: Good to speak with you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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