In the lead-up to the call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, hosts on Russia’s state media were buzzing with anticipation.
One broadcaster on the channel Russia 1 described it as “the most important telephone conversation in the modern world.”
When the 2½-hour call wrapped, Russian media were quick to note that it was the longest one ever between a U.S. and Russian president. And that alone was enough for some to label it a diplomatic victory.
“It’s now official: this is the perfect phone conversation,” wrote Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy on international economic co-operation, on X.
While the readouts released by the White House and the Kremlin were scant and only revealed what each side wanted to present as the major takeaways — including an agreement to stop attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine — Trump called the conversation “very good,” and the Kremlin noted that both leaders understood and trusted each other.
It was a blunt sign of the warming relations between Washington and Moscow, and reaffirms the opportunity that Russia envisions with the Trump administration, which could extend beyond the battlefields of Ukraine.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its already negative relationship with the West dramatically worsened. It became a pariah in some geopolitical circles, and successive sanctions left it mostly cut off from European and North American markets.
“Russia is in a terrible economic condition … but that’s the price Russia pays for Putin’s ambitions,” said Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat, who resigned his post in protest over Russia’s invasion.
Bondarev believes Putin has a plan to stop his war on Ukraine, and is likely just waiting to see what the Trump administration offers.
Warming relations
During the call, the Kremlin said the two leaders discussed the need to improve bilateral relations, seek out economic co-operation and that they might even arrange international hockey matches between the two sides.
It was an attempt to reboot an historic rivalry through sports diplomacy at a time when most Russian teams are currently banned from international competition.
Putin did not agree to the U.S. proposal for a full, unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, but said he supported a smaller move to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a U.S.-backed proposal that Russia and Ukraine cease attacking each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days, the Kremlin said, after a lengthy call between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
However, both Ukraine and Russia launched air attacks overnight and accused each other of hitting energy sites.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 150 drones overnight, including some that targeted energy facilities. Zelenskyy said two Ukrainian hospitals were hit in the attack.
During the call with Trump, Putin appeared to reiterate his conditions for a full ceasefire, which include the blocking of all Western military aid to Ukraine as well as a halt to intelligence-sharing.
But in an interview with Fox News, Trump said military aid wasn’t discussed.
While the exact details of the conversation remain unclear, it does not appear Putin was forced to abandon any of his so-called conditions for ending the war and both sides said negotiations would continue on Ukraine.
The White House and the Kremlin also said the leaders talked about the crisis in the Middle East. Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political expert and founder of the analysis firm R. Politik, said this “marks an obvious victory for Putin,” as it signals there can be U.S.-Russia co-operation on key international issues.
“The process of separating the Ukraine issue from broader U.S.-Russia bilateral relations is gaining momentum,” she wrote on the social media platform Telegram.
“Putin managed to reject the proposal for a full ceasefire while turning the situation to his advantage without making concessions.”
Economic potential
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said both Putin and Trump are aware of the “enormous potential” for many joint commercial projects.
Special envoy Dmitriev mused at a business forum on Wednesday about what promise the improved relationship with Washington could bring.
After addressing oligarchs and entrepreneurs on Wednesday, Dmitriev told reporters many U.S. companies that left the Russian market in 2022 would be seeking to return, and the best way to do that would be to partner with Russian companies.
He said Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, was interested in meeting with Elon Musk, who heads SpaceX (as well as Trump’s Department for Government Efficiency), to collaborate on research, including the possibility of flights to Mars.
Dmitriev, who also leads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, said the country wants to develop its rare earth minerals and wants to partner with U.S. companies looking to invest.
When Putin first publicly addressed the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine last week, he spoke about how perhaps Washington and Moscow could co-operate on energy projects, which could lead to another gas pipeline for Europe.
Putin could have been referencing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which runs between Russia and Germany, and was damaged in an explosion in the fall of 2022.
In recent days, there have been a number of reports, including by the Financial Times and the German newspaper BILD, which suggest there’s a plan to restart the pipeline, potentially with investment from American companies. However, Germany says it is not involved in any talks to revive Nord Stream 2.
Kremlin’s agenda
Anna Matveeva, a visiting senior research fellow at King’s College London, says after years of a negative climate between the U.S. and Russia, some in Russia see the abrupt turn in relations as a “ray of hope.”
But she says others in the country are likely more cautious, given that some were quite hopeful during Trump’s first presidency, but ended up disappointed when he approved additional sanctions against Russia after pressure from U.S. Congress in 2019.
She says while the call with Trump gave Putin a chance to again articulate his conditions around Ukraine, she said Ukraine isn’t the Kremlin’s main focus.
“They would like to have the topic of Ukraine out of the way…. because they want to move on to things which matter more for them,” she said in an interview with CBC News. “The Kremlin has a very big agenda…. including the normalization of bilateral relations.”
Fitting into this, she said, is likely an effort to encourage joint events, like the hockey games Putin proposed.
The Kremlin said Trump supports the idea, and on Wednesday, Russia’s minister of sport said he is working on ways to bring players from the NHL and Russia’s KHL together.
“Economic measures, culture and sports — that is kind of the way to rebuild relations gradually,” said Matveeva.
