U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about an hour today. Putin’s top aide Yury Ushakov reported that the two “exchanged opinions on the trips made by US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kiev on September 5–6.” Of special note, Ushakov reported that “actual tangible actions that the Americans could take to expedite the cessation of the hostilities were outlined.”
He stated that the conversation “was constructive and quite frank. As you understand, the conversation itself is confidential, so I am not at liberty to share with you many important details and nuances. The outcome of the visit by said US representatives was assessed as positive. The work through this channel and some others will continue.”
He reported that Trump “directly communicated the desirability of bringing the [Ukraine] conflict to an end as soon as possible, as it would immediately open up prospects—impressive and far-reaching ones at that—for the full restoration of relations between the U.S. and Russia. In his view, this would have a particular impact on trade and economic ties, promising huge benefits for both nations... President Putin supported this approach in the context of potentially building a constructive partnership between the two great powers and praised the mediation efforts by the US and Donald Trump personally with respect to finding solutions to the Ukrainian conflict.”
