The White House has received "some pretty good news" regarding its attempts to secure a 30-day ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed during a speech at the Justice Department (DOJ) on March 14.
Following talks with U.S. officials on March 11, Kyiv agreed to a temporary ceasefire, as long as Russia also abides by its terms. Washington is now attempting to persuade Moscow to accept the deal.
"We've had some very good calls today with Russia and with Ukraine," Trump said during his DOJ speech.
"They've agreed for a ceasefire if we can get it with Russia, and it's not easy. It's a tough one. But I think we're doing it. ... I think we've had some very good results. I haven't been able to say that to anybody else, I haven't wanted to say it until just before I came here, I got some pretty good news."
Trump did not say what the good news was, nor did he provide additional details on the content of the negotiations. Despite his note of optimism, he acknowledged that there is still "a long way to go."
Earlier in the day, Trump claimed he asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to "spare" Ukrainian troops he said were surrounded by Russian forces in Kursk Oblast — a claim he repeated during his speech. Kyiv has denied reports that its troops are encircled in Kursk.
Trump also repeated his standard talking point on Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine: namely, that former U.S. President Joe Biden should not have "let" the war happen.
"Biden should have never let this war happen," he said.
"First of all, you don't want to pick on someone that's a lot larger than you, even with the money. That's a lot of money that we gave them."
Trump has historically been hesitant to condemn Russia's blatant aggression and violations of sovereignty, instead preferring to lay the blame on the Biden administration and Ukraine's own NATO ambitions.
Putin said on March 13 that Russia was ready to agree to the proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but soon followed that up with demands that Ukraine ban mobilizing and training more troops and that the West halt all military aid to Kyiv.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 14 said that the administration was "cautiously optimistic" about progress towards a ceasefire, but added that the situation remains "complex."
Oleg Sukhov
(Updated: )
