Trump, Putin agree war in Ukraine 'needs to end with a lasting peace,' White House says

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, agreed that the Kremlin's war on Ukraine "needs to end with a lasting peace," the White House said Tuesday after the leaders concluded a lengthy telephone call.

"This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts. The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace," the executive mansion said in a statement issued after the presidents spoke for over two hours.

"These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East," it added.

Trump and Putin also agreed on the need to improve bilateral ties, affirming that doing so would have "huge upside," including economic agreements "and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved."

The leaders further "spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts," the White House said, just hours after Israel resumed its offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip.

"They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel," it added.