Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared before the press after his phone call with Donald Trump (which lasted over 2 hours) and said only general things.
Meduza retold Putin's statement, after which it becomes clear that the war is unlikely to stop - because Russia wants to eliminate the “root causes of the crisis“. Moscow is referring to Ukraine's right to exist as an independent state that wants a European future. Here's what Putin said:
The conversation was frank and informative. In my opinion, very useful. I thanked Donald Trump for his support for the resumption of direct negotiations. He expressed his position on the ceasefire. I noted that Russia is for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. We need to determine the most effective paths to peace.
We agreed that the Russian Federation is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on the memorandum of the future agreement - on the principles, conditions, including a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time after reaching appropriate agreements. Contacts between the participants in the Istanbul meeting have been resumed.
This gives reason to believe that, in general, we are on the right track. I highly appreciate the conversation. The point is for both sides to show maximum desire for peace and find compromises that suit everyone. In general, Russia's position is clear - the main thing for us is to eliminate the causes of the crisis.