European natural gas and oil prices are seeing a significant drop today after a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, aimed at initiating “immediate” negotiations on Ukraine.

At around 12:05 PM (Greek time), the price of the Dutch TTF futures contract, which serves as the European benchmark for natural gas, fell by nearly 4.78%, reaching €53 per megawatt-hour (MWh).

Gas prices declined following “Donald Trump’s phone calls with the Russian president and then with the Ukrainian president, which could be seen as a step toward a peace agreement,” explain analysts at Energi Danmark.

Russia, the world’s second-largest natural gas producer, and the United States will “immediately” begin negotiations to end the conflict, announced the American president through his social media platform, Truth Social, describing his conversation with the Russian leader as “very productive.”

On his part, Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump that he wants to find a “long-term solution” to the Ukrainian conflict through “peace talks,” according to a statement from the Kremlin, which mentioned that the phone conversation lasted nearly an hour and a half.

“The return of significant volumes of Russian gas to Europe in the event of a peace deal in Ukraine” is seen as a key factor in price reductions, says Lee Hardman, an analyst at MUFG.

The prospect of a Trump-Putin meeting is also driving down oil prices.

“Any agreement, from Russia’s perspective, would have to come with a relaxation of U.S. sanctions,” which are currently targeting Russian oil exports, notes John Evans, an analyst at PVM.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil (North Sea) for April delivery dropped by 1.17% to $74.30.

Meanwhile, the price of the American equivalent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery, decreased by 1.28% to $70.46.