Decoding the call: What the Trump-Putin exchange means for global politics

This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Kirill Shamiev, a policy fellow with ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, to dissect the outcomes and implications of the historic phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin—which, at two-and-a-half-hours, was the longest between American and Russian leaders in history. Mark and Kirill explore the three key outcomes: a prisoner exchange of 175 individuals from each side; an agreement to cease attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days; and a shift from informal diplomacy to official expert discussions on conflict settlement.  The conversation also delves into the contrasting post-call read-outs from the White House and the Kremlin; where Russia is projecting assertiveness, the US has adopted a more diplomatic tone. What does the phone call mean for the Ukraine conflict? And why is Europe conspicuously absent from the discussion?  This podcast was recorded on 19 March 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.