In a phone call, Trump urges Putin to swiftly end Ukraine war, links peace deal to revival of US-Russia ties

New Delhi: The US president, Donald Trump, urged his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to bring the Ukraine war to a swift conclusion during an hour-long telephone conversation on Tuesday. The Kremlin said Trump argued that an agreement would also clear the way for a broad restoration of political, trade and economic relations between Washington and Moscow.

The conversation followed visits by Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to Moscow on September 5 and Kyiv the following day as Washington sought to revive a peace process that had lost momentum. Both leaders assessed the envoys’ discussions positively, according to the Kremlin’s foreign-policy adviser, Yury Ushakov.

Ushakov described the Trump-Putin exchange as “constructive and frank” but said several important details would remain confidential. Trump emphasized that an early settlement could open significant opportunities for rebuilding bilateral ties and expanding commercial cooperation between the two countries.

Putin supported the broader approach outlined by Trump, the Kremlin adviser said, and briefed him on Russia’s assessment of developments on the battlefield. The Russian leader also set out Moscow’s views on measures the United States could take to accelerate efforts towards ending the conflict.

The White House did not immediately issue its own detailed account of the conversation, leaving most of the publicly available information dependent on the Kremlin’s version. This distinction is important because Moscow and Washington have previously differed in their descriptions of high-level discussions concerning Ukraine.

Putin also used the call to address European concerns over Russia’s longer-term military intentions, according to Ushakov. The Russian president maintained that Moscow had no plans to attack European countries, although Nato members have continued to strengthen their eastern defences because of the war and Russia’s military posture.

The two presidents agreed to maintain direct contact and hold another telephone conversation if required. They also discussed the continuation of prisoner exchanges, an area in which limited agreements have remained possible despite the wider breakdown in relations.

Wide differences remain between Moscow and Kyiv

The renewed diplomacy has yet to bridge the fundamental differences separating Russia and Ukraine over territory, security guarantees and the terms of any ceasefire. Moscow continues to demand Ukrainian withdrawal from areas of the Donetsk region that Russian forces do not control, a condition Kyiv has rejected as an unacceptable surrender of sovereign territory.

Russia has also given no public indication that it is prepared to abandon its wider military objectives. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow remained confident in its armed forces even as it supported diplomatic efforts to achieve what it described as a peaceful settlement.

On Wednesday, Peskov said Russia hoped US-mediated negotiations with Ukraine would resume in the foreseeable future. No direct talks between the two sides have taken place since February, and the Kremlin has declined to disclose the possible terms now under discussion.

Ukraine has responded cautiously to the latest American initiative, insisting that any agreement must protect its sovereignty and provide credible safeguards against renewed Russian military action. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, nevertheless said the proposals presented by Kushner and Witkoff included some worthwhile ideas that could form the basis of further discussions.

Zelenskyy has indicated that another round of talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States could take place in the autumn. Kyiv has also signalled that issues such as energy infrastructure and grain exports might be considered as part of a wider negotiating process, although it has ruled out accepting Moscow’s territorial demands.

The Ukrainian government continues to seek additional Patriot air-defence systems and interceptor missiles as Russian drone and missile attacks persist. Kyiv argues that stronger defensive capabilities and firm Western security commitments are necessary to prevent negotiations from becoming a mechanism for freezing the conflict on terms favourable to Moscow.

Trump’s latest intervention has restored diplomatic activity around the war but has not produced evidence of an imminent breakthrough. The success of the initiative will ultimately depend on whether Washington can convert separate discussions with Moscow and Kyiv into a negotiating framework acceptable to both sides without treating battlefield realities as a substitute for an agreed settlement.