President Trump and President Putin spoke Tuesday for exactly one hour in what the Kremlin called a “constructive and extremely frank” call. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said the two compared notes on U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s weekend visits to Moscow and Kiev.
Putin gave Trump what Ushakov called an “objective and thorough” rundown of Russia’s special military operation. He also told Trump that talk of a Russian threat to Europe is a pretext for more aid to Kiev and higher European defense spending, stressing that Russia has “absolutely no aggressive plans whatsoever towards Europe.”
Trump said ending the Ukraine conflict would immediately open the door to a full restoration of U.S.-Russia relations. He pointed to trade as a prize, saying restored commercial ties would bring “enormous benefits” to both countries.
The phone call came after Putin met Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin last weekend. Moscow outlined its view of the war, saying Russian forces are advancing and that the conflict’s “root causes” must still be addressed. Witkoff and Kushner said they would take that message to Kiev, while the sides also discussed potential U.S.-Russia projects, agreeing to keep the door open for further talks.
