US President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to reach a deal on Ukraine, following a phone call between the two leaders, and said it would be good if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted the same. He made the comments to reporters before departing for Texas.
Trump said he had spoken very well with Putin, who wants to make a deal, and added that it would be great if Zelensky also wanted one.
Trump also said he hoped a three-way meeting involving him, Putin and Zelensky would take place. He said the Ukrainian and Russian leaders hate each other, which he described as the main obstacle to reaching an agreement.
Putin and Trump's phone call
The call between Putin and Trump took place on September 8 and lasted exactly one hour, unfolding in a respectful and businesslike manner. During the conversation, Trump pressed the case for ending the conflict in Ukraine as quickly as possible and promised something he called impressive in return for a swift end to the fighting. Putin backed this approach in the context of building what was described as a constructive partnership between the two countries.
Kremlin says it is open to more talks
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was open to meetings with the United States on a settlement and hoped Kyiv would also be open to American peacemaking efforts. He said there was an understanding that the two sides would meet again and that the practice of such meetings would resume, calling this necessary and something Russia welcomed. He added that Russia also hoped for openness on Kyiv's part.
Report on Trump's negotiating team denied
On September 9, the Financial Times reported that the roles of Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Ukraine peace negotiations could be reduced. The report claimed that CIA Director John Ratcliffe could become Washington's lead representative in the talks. Ratcliffe visited Moscow in August.
The White House dismissed the report as fake. Deputy White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly said the story was based on anonymous low-level sources who had no idea what they were talking about. She added that Witkoff and Kushner were continuing to work hard on the negotiations.
