Trump Says Putin Wants Ukraine War Deal

President Trump said on Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and again argued that the Kremlin leader wants to strike a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump made the remarks on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, repeating his view that Putin is looking for an agreement. He said he would welcome any effort by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to join negotiations.

Call follows Envoy Meetings in Moscow and Kyiv

The phone call, which the Russians said took place on Tuesday, came after Trump’s senior envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, met Putin in Moscow and Zelenskyy in Kyiv over the weekend.

The White House did not publish a summary of the call or confirm that it happened, leaving Russia to provide the only official account of the conversation.

Trump’s View of the “Holdup”

Trump said he believed that ending the conflict would open the way for progress. Asked what was preventing a deal, he pointed to personal animosity rather than specific sticking points.

“The holdup is two people that hate each other,” Trump said. “I think more than anything else, it’s two people that hate each other.”

Trump has previously said he thinks Putin wants to agree terms to end the fighting. He has suggested that Russia could make changes such as withdrawing troops and giving up territory at any point.

Russian Readout and Ukraine’s Position

According to the Russian readout, Trump told Putin that ending the conflict would immediately create a possibility for the full restoration of relations between Russia and the United States. The Kremlin also said Trump indicated he was interested in reaching a breakthrough during his presidency.

Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, told reporters on Sunday that the president had been tracking developments “very closely” and was seeking “a pathway to end this war”. He said the meetings with Zelenskyy and Putin were the first trip to Ukraine by Kushner and Witkoff since Trump took office in January 2025.

Zelenskyy said the aim of the discussions was a “just, fair peace” that would ensure Russia could not restart attacks on Ukraine. He added on Tuesday that he may meet Trump later this month.

Putin and Zelenskyy ordered a pause in fighting while Kushner and Witkoff held talks in both capitals. Russia resumed its attacks on Kyiv on Tuesday morning, killing at least two people, according to the report.

Wider Regional Context

The renewed diplomacy comes as Lithuania, which borders Russia-friendly Belarus, trains civilians to respond if Russian aggression reaches its territory.

Trump has pledged to end the war in Ukraine by the first day of his presidency. However, he has acknowledged publicly that achieving that goal has been harder than expected, describing the pledge as “figurative” or an “exaggeration”. He is now approaching 20 months in office.

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10 September 2026