President Donald Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to the White House. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview that the two leaders had "concluded a positive call."

The discussion came a day after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, a meeting that did not produce any clear breakthroughs but saw the US president praise what he called "a lot of progress" toward a possible peace deal.

Trump said after the meeting with the Ukrainian leader that he believed a deal was "getting close," though it would likely take several weeks to finalize and no timetable was set. Zelenskiy said Sunday that the peace plan was "90% agreed upon."

It remains unclear whether Trump is getting any closer to his goal of ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which he has pledged to halt on his first day back in office.

Ukrainian officials have been working feverishly over the past few weeks to revise a 28-point draft plan originally proposed by the US but deemed too favorable to Russia. The latest version has 20 points, but Moscow has warned that the plan includes elements they will not accept, including a reduction in the size of Ukraine's post-war military. Russia has insisted on maximalist demands for territory, including land it does not fully control.

Zelenskiy, meanwhile, said he asked Trump for a US security guarantee lasting half a century to help deter a future Russian invasion.

Trump said he had a "very productive" phone call with Putin shortly before meeting with Zelenskiy on Sunday. The US and Ukrainian presidents spoke with European leaders after their discussions. (alg)

Source: Bloomberg