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U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to strike a deal to end Moscow's war in Ukraine, a day after the Kremlin described a phone call between the two leaders as "extremely frank" and constructive.
Putin "is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice," Trump told reporters, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"I know about deals, and these are two people that are tired of fighting," Trump added.
The two leaders spoke by phone for exactly one hour on Tuesday. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters the call was constructive and candid, and that it focused on the issue of a settlement in Ukraine.
The call followed a weekend visit to Moscow and Kyiv by US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who met separately with Putin and Zelenskyy.
During the call, the two presidents exchanged views on the outcomes of those meetings, and Ushakov said the visit was assessed by the Russian side as positive.
Trump called for a speedy end to the fighting, according to Ushakov, while Putin presented what the Kremlin aide described as an "objective and detailed analysis" of the frontline situation.
Putin also pointed out what the Americans could realistically do to bring the hostilities to a swift conclusion, and stressed that Russia had "no aggressive plans" toward Europe, Ushakov said.
Trump and the White House did not immediately release their own readout of the call.
Zelenskyy said Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators could meet as early as this month to discuss ending the war. The Kremlin, however, said Monday it was too early to discuss a venue or dates for any such meeting.
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