Shortly after Moscow and Kyiv reached a limited ceasefire after a one-hour call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Thursday that efforts were underway for a "lasting ceasefire." She added that both sides were closer to achieving peace than ever before.

"Right now, we're at a partial ceasefire. But again, the President is sending his highly skilled, intelligent and experienced team to Saudi Arabia later this week to continue fighting for peace in this conflict. And I would just reiterate one more time: we have never been closer to peace than we are today," she expressed.

A recent dispute between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House escalated into a public fallout. However, reports state that tensions eased during an hour-long phone call, where both leaders adopted a more optimistic tone. Unlike their last meeting at the Oval Office in Washington, DC, the recent interaction between the two leaders was noticeably different. In what Zelenskyy described as a “positive, very substantive, and frank” conversation, they spoke over the phone, held away from media attention.

Following the call, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed optimism about the prospects of a lasting peace deal. “We are now at that place where we are talking about that. So we’ve moved beyond just the economic minerals deal framework, and we’re looking at a lasting ceasefire,” she stated. Reflecting on the tensions during their previous meeting, Leavitt noted, “In that meeting between President Zelenskyy and President Trump (in the Oval Office), the Ukrainian President at the time wasn’t talking about a greater peace deal.”

During their last meeting, Trump had accused Zelenskyy of "gambling with World War Three." However, after their hour-long discussion today, Trump described the conversation as "very good" and stated, "we are very much on track."

The focus is now on the upcoming talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the scope of a limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine will be discussed. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, shared this update with Fox News after the U.S. President spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Following his conversation with Trump, Zelenskyy confirmed that technical negotiations on the partial ceasefire would occur this week in Saudi Arabia. However, Putin has made several demands, including stopping military aid to Ukraine, which are conditions that Zelenskyy strongly rejects. Looking ahead, Zelenskyy has remained firm that Ukraine will not cede any territory currently occupied by Russian forces.