Bangladesh, May 19 -- On May 19, at exactly 5 pm Moscow time, a long-anticipated phone call took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Spanning more than two hours, the conversation came amid fresh diplomatic tremors in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, following the resumption of direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in Istanbul. The Kremlin later described the call as “very useful,” and both leaders seemed to treat the discussion not as a perfunctory gesture, but as a potential turning point in the grinding war that has reshaped the global order since 2022.

The significance of this call cannot be overstated. While President Joe Bidens administration has maintained a hardline ...