Kremlin says Putin and Trump had 'constructive and frank' phone call on Ukraine settlement

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump discussed the settlement of the Ukraine conflict in a phone call on Tuesday, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said.

The conversation was “constructive and frank” and lasted exactly one hour, Ushakov told reporters, adding that the call was “strictly confidential.”

The presidents exchanged views on the recent visits to Moscow and Kyiv by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, whose efforts to advance negotiations were assessed positively, he added.

“Overall, the visit of the aforementioned American representatives was assessed positively,” Ushakov said.

Trump, he added, emphasized the need to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an early end, which could open the way for a broad resumption of relations between Russia and the US.

Ushakov said Putin gave Trump “a realistic assessment” of the situation on the battlefield, and the two sides discussed what Washington could do to help bring the hostilities to an end more quickly.

According to him, the presidents also agreed to continue work on humanitarian issues, including prisoner exchanges, and to remain in contact.

Ushakov said the leaders also discussed “European narratives about a Russian threat,” which according to him are “being used to justify support for Ukraine and increased European military spending.”

Witkoff and Kushner met Putin in Moscow on Saturday before traveling to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a day later.

Moscow described the meeting with Putin as “substantive, constructive and highly useful,” but no specific breakthrough was announced.