The call followed a new round of shuttle diplomacy by Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who met Putin in Moscow for more than three hours on Saturday before traveling to Kiev for talks with Vladimir Zelensky the following day.
Speaking to reporters, Ushakov said Putin and Trump had both assessed the envoys’ visits positively and agreed that work through this and other diplomatic channels would “continue.”
Ushakov described the hour-long conversation as positive, saying Putin praised US mediation efforts and Trump personally. Trump, he added, expressed hope for a breakthrough in resolving the conflict during his presidency.
Trump told Putin that ending the Ukraine conflict would open the way to fully restoring Russia-US relations and that renewed trade ties would bring both countries “enormous benefits,” Ushakov said. Putin welcomed the prospect of “a constructive partnership between two great powers,” he added.
Putin also said that Moscow has no hostile intentions toward European countries, according to Ushakov. Summarizing the president’s remarks, the aide added: “The myths being spread about a Russian threat serve as a pretext for Europeans to increase their support for Ukraine and their own military spending.”
Putin also briefed Trump on the fighting, including Moscow’s prospects for further battlefield advances and achieving its military objectives, Ushakov said.
“The presidents agreed to stay in touch and will call each other whenever necessary,” Ushakov said.
Russia looking forward to revival of trilateral Ukraine talks – Kremlin
Moscow appreciates efforts to resume direct negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US as Washington has stepped up efforts to settle the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Speaking to Indian media on Tuesday, ahead of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Peskov said intensive diplomatic work is underway, with American negotiators carrying messages between Moscow and Kiev.
“We hope for a restart of negotiations between three parties – Russia, Ukraine, and America. We do hope for the best. We do hope that sooner or later we will pursue a peaceful solution,” he said.
Peskov added that Russia welcomes mediation efforts by both Washington and New Delhi, and emphasized that Moscow never wanted the Ukraine conflict to happen and launched its offensive in order to end the war started by Kiev in 2014 following the Western-backed Maidan coup.
The spokesman also said Kiev does not appear to be “flexible” or “really willing” to actually end the hostilities, adding that it appears to be “provoked to a great extent by some European countries who cannot get rid of the idea of strategically defeating Russia.”
The Kremlin described the Moscow meeting as constructive and “extremely candid,”saying the Americans presented several ideas for ending the conflict while Putin reiterated Russia’s conditions for a lasting settlement.
Witkoff later said progress had been made toward scheduling another three-way meeting, while expressing optimism that diplomacy could produce an agreement.
Moscow has repeatedly said it remains open to diplomacy but insists any final agreement must address the root causes of the conflict and respect the new realities on the ground. Kiev, however, has resisted Russian demands on territorial and security issues.
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