President Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin that a swift end to the war in Ukraine could open the door to fully restoring U.S.-Russia trade and economic ties, according to a Kremlin readout of a phone call between the two leaders.
The call lasted exactly one hour on Tuesday, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who described the conversation as “constructive and very candid,” a characterization reported by Russia’s Tass news agency. Ushakov said Trump made clear he wanted the war to end “as soon as possible,” while Putin gave Trump what Ushakov called an “objective and thorough” analysis of what Moscow terms its special military operation.
Trump and Putin also discussed recent visits to Moscow and Kyiv by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have been working to restart stalled diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict.
The Kremlin’s account of the call struck an optimistic note, though Russian state media has consistently framed developments favorably when it perceives momentum in its direction.
No Sign of a Breakthrough
Despite the upbeat tone from Moscow, there is little indication the war is actually close to resolution. Hours after a temporary cease-fire tied to the envoys’ visits ended, Russia resumed air attacks on Kyiv.
The call follows the Alaska summit between the two leaders, which generated significant attention but did not produce an end to the war.
Both sides face mounting strain. Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office says roughly 290,000 cases have been opened since 2022 against soldiers accused of abandoning their posts, on top of an estimated 2 million Ukrainians sought for evading mobilization. Russia, while able to draw on a larger pool of manpower, has also grappled with draft evasion.
Ending the war has been one of Trump’s central foreign policy goals since returning to office. For now, the latest call between the two leaders has not produced any public sign that a resolution is imminent.
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