Diplomacy & Geopolitics
Trump says Putin wants deal to end Ukraine war
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to make a deal to end Moscow's war against Ukraine, a day after the Kremlin described a Putin-Trump phone call as 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 Zelensky. “I know about deals, and these are two people that are tired of fighting,” he said.
The Kremlin said Tuesday's hour-long call between Putin and Trump on the Ukraine conflict was “extremely frank” and constructive. No breakthrough was announced.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Putin and Trump discussed the idea of a three-way meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at an Asia-Pacific summit in November. The summit is scheduled for November 18-19 in Shenzhen, China. Russia has indicated Putin will attend, while the White House has not announced whether Trump will be there.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators could meet as early as September if all sides agree. Moscow and Kyiv have not announced an agreement on such talks.
Update
Trump said Putin wants to make a deal to end Moscow's war against Ukraine.
Trump said a deal would be welcome if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also wants one.
Trump said Putin and Zelensky are “tired of fighting”.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 19:00:04 UTC.
Update
The Kremlin said Putin and Trump discussed the idea of a trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there would be an opportunity for such a meeting.
APEC is scheduled to hold its summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19, with Russia indicating Putin will attend and the White House not yet announcing whether Trump will attend.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 11:11:30 UTC.
Update
Ukraine's rescue services said renewed Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least five people after a brief ceasefire linked to the US envoys' Kyiv visit.
Russia said it carried out a massive strike on military-industrial sites, logistics hubs and storage centres in Kyiv and its suburbs.
Russian-installed officials in Crimea said a Ukrainian attack killed two people.
Zelensky told Axios that the United States was pushing for de-escalation before winter and that Putin did not want to annoy Trump before US midterm elections.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 15:57:39 UTC.
Update
The Kremlin said Putin and Trump spoke for one hour on Tuesday after US negotiators visited Moscow and Kyiv at the weekend.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the leaders exchanged views on the outcome of the visits.
The talks brought no immediate breakthrough in the Ukraine war.
Ushakov said Putin presented Trump with an analysis of the frontline situation and said what the United States could do to bring hostilities to a swift conclusion.
Ushakov said Putin told Trump that Russia had no aggressive plans towards Europe.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 15:01:59 UTC.
Update
A Kremlin aide said Putin and Trump had an “extremely frank” phone call after a visit by US envoys.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 14:20:36 UTC.
Update
The Kremlin said Putin told Trump that Russia had no aggressive plans towards Europe.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 14:21:07 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Trump's statement that Putin wants a deal is his characterization; no agreement or breakthrough has been announced.
The White House has not announced whether Trump will attend the November summit in China.
No venue or date has been confirmed for any Russia-Ukraine-US talks.
Source
AFP news report published on .