Trump claims Putin is open to a Ukraine peace deal after recent talks

Donald Trump told reporters that he had a productive discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week, during which Putin signaled a desire to reach a deal to stop the war in Ukraine. Trump added that such an agreement would be beneficial if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is also willing to negotiate. The comments came as Trump prepared to travel to Dallas for the Republican National Convention aboard Air Force One.

They followed a telephone conversation between the two leaders that occurred after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and former senior adviser Jared Kushner returned from a diplomatic tour of Moscow and Kyiv, where they explored possible peace frameworks. Previously, CIA Director John Ratcliffe had engaged with Russian intelligence in Moscow to encourage an end to the conflict. Despite these diplomatic overtures, intelligence agencies in the United States, Ukraine and Europe continue to doubt that Putin is seriously pursuing a settlement.