Trump Putin

Washington (dpa) — US President Donald Trump says his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is “wanting to make a deal” to end the war in Ukraine.

Responding to a journalist’s question on Wednesday about his telephone call with Putin, Trump said the two leaders had a “good conversation.”

A trilateral meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “could happen,” Trump said before departing to the Republican Party convention in Dallas.

“If Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that’d be very nice,” the US president said.

The comments came after US mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Moscow and Kiev last weekend for talks.

Trump Putin

No significant progress towards a peaceful resolution to the years-long conflict has been reported.

The Kremlin said Putin assured Trump on the phone call that he has no “aggressive plans” regarding Europe.

Putin also provided Trump with an “objective and detailed analysis of events on the battlefield,” his foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told journalists. The Russian leader also explained what the US “can actually do to bring the fighting to an end soon.”

Russia has been at war with its neighbour Ukraine since February 2022. Washington’s efforts to mediate in the conflict have increased since Trump’s return to office last year, with Putin meeting the US president in Alaska last year.