A conversation on Friday between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump was “very substantive and friendly” and neither leader wanted to be the first to end the call, Russian news agency Interfax quoted a Kremlin aide as saying. During the call, the presidents agreed that Russia would supply diesel to the US and global markets to lower fuel prices, prompting an unexpected temporary easing of U.S. sanctions on Russian fuel that has dismayed Ukraine. The Kremlin said most of the conversation focused on efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine. Putin also downplayed the likelihood of three-way peace talks resuming soon. Interfax cited Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov on Saturday as saying the conversation lasted an hour and a half. “Neither wanted to be the first to hang up,” he said. “They hung up simultaneously, literally at the same time.” Kyiv is relying on U.S. support in negotiations to end the war. After news of the call broke on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the diesel deal in unusually blunt terms, calling it a “weak decision” and “an investment in a war that must be ended.” The West imposed sanctions, including restrictions on Russian energy imports, after Moscow launched the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. Efforts to end the fighting have so far stalled, partly over Russia’s demand for four Ukrainian regions it does not fully control. On Friday, negotiators from the U.S., Ukraine and European countries held talks in Miami aimed at reaching agreement on a unified peace proposal in the coming weeks that could be presented to Russia, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Joe Bavier
