Trump set to speak to Putin as White House looks to close ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine

The high-stakes call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin expected on Tuesday comes as the White House insists it is closing in on a temporary ceasefire deal to pause the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The high-stakes call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin expected on Tuesday comes as the White House insists it is closing in on a temporary ceasefire deal to pause the war between Russia and Ukraine. But the call will be a key test of whether Trump, who’s largely echoed Putin’s view of the war since their call last month, can achieve his campaign trail promise of bringing the war to an end – and whether his friendliness toward Russia has paid off. A key priority for the call, sources familiar with the talks told CNN, is securing an agreement on concessions Russia is willing to make – including whether it’s willing to withdraw forces from territory it seized in the past three years since invading Ukraine. Trump himself suggested as much while speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, saying that US negotiators have discussed “dividing up certain assets.” “We’ll be talking about land. A lot of land is a lot different than it was before the war, as you know. We’ll be talking about land, we’ll be talking about power plants, that’s a big question,” Trump said. The Kremlin has said that Putin has been readying himself for the discussion with Trump, having his staff work out talking points on Russia’s position.