Ukraine announced Tuesday evening to support an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia after a meeting in Saudi Arabia, the United States accepting on its side to lift restrictions on military aid and the exchange of information. For the European Union, the ball is now in the Russian camp. “The United States must convince Russia” to accept the ceasefire, said Volodymyr Zelensky during its daily address broadcast on social networks. The American president, Donald Trump, said soon after that he intended to speak with his Russian counterpart this week, which Moscow did not rule out.
The information to remember:
⇒ Donald Trump says he will probably talk to Vladimir Putin this week
⇒ For the EU, the ball is in the camp of Russia
⇒ French deputies examine a resolution on the seizure of Russian assets
08:15
CIA and Russian external intelligence service maintained by phone
The director of the Russian External Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Narychkine, spoke on the phone with the head of the American CIA, John Ratcliffe, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday. “On March 11, 2025, a telephone interview between the director of the SVR Serguei Narychkine and the head of the American CIA John Ratcliffe took place,” said official TASS agency, quoting an SVR statement.
This is the first contact between the two officials since the coming to power in the United States of Donald Trump in January and a rare exchange between the Russian and American intelligence services since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. During this conversation, Sergei Narychkine and John Ratcliffe put themselves on “agreement for regular contacts” between the SVR and the CIA ” International stability and security, as well as down the confrontation in relations between Moscow and Washington “, according to the press release quoted by TASS.
07:30
MPs examine a resolution calling for Russian assets
The French deputies will examine this Wednesday a proposal for resolution on the strengthening of support for Ukraine, which calls for the European Union, NATO and “the other allied countries” to “continue and increase their political, economic and military support to Ukraine” in the face of “Russian aggression”.
It also contains several points of debate, including the question of the Ukraine membership process in the EU, of the presence on the Ukrainian soil of French soldiers in the event of a peace agreement, or that of the import of Russian gas by the EU countries, to which the resolution calls for “ending”.
In the current state, the text “invites” also the European Union to “use the Russian and immobilized Russian assets now, […] To support the Ukrainian resistance and the reconstruction of Ukraine. “A majority could be difficult to find in the hemicycle on this question. Supported by socialists, environmentalists and horizons, the entry of Russian assets is however not a good option for rebellious France (LFI) and the National Rally (RN).
7:15 am
Donald Trump says he will probably talk to Vladimir Putin this week
Donald Trump said Tuesday evening that he “was going to talk to Vladimir Putin”, probably this week after the Ukrainian-American meeting on Tuesday. “I think, yes,” added the American president when a journalist asked him to find out if the conversation with his Russian counterpart would take place during the week.
Russian diplomacy spokesperson said on Tuesday not excluding rapid contacts between Moscow and Washington. “We do not exclude contacts with representatives of the United States for the coming days,” said Maria Zakharova, quoted by Russian agencies Tass and Ria Novosti.
“Of course,” also replied Donald Trump to a reporter who asked him if the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky would be invited to return to the White House after their recent extremely conflictual meeting.
As for the prospect of seeing a total ceasefire in Ukraine, Donald Trump said: “Well, I hope it will be finished in the coming days, I would like to see this”. “I know we have a big meeting tomorrow with Russia and we hope that good conversations will follow,” he added.
07:00
The European Union welcomes the agreement between kyiv and Washington, the ball is “in the Russian camp”
The two highest officials of the European Union welcomed the agreement between the United States and Ukraine on a ceasefire project with Russia on Tuesday, as well as Washington’s decision to resume military aid to kyiv. “This is a positive development which can constitute a step towards a global peace, fair and lasting for Ukraine. The ball is now in the camp of Russia,” wrote the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Council Antonio Costa on X, after the American-Ukrainian talks in Saudi Arabia.
Emmanuel Macron also “congratulated advances”, adding to the social network X that “the ball is clearly clearly in the camp of Russia”. “France and its partners remain committed to a solid and sustainable peace, which is backed by robust security guarantees for Ukraine,” he added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his part “warmly” welcomed Tuesday in a statement the agreement between the United States and Ukraine, calling it “remarkable advance” and calling Moscow to “accept a ceasefire and also an end of the fighting”.