Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly told U.S. President Donald Trump during a recent phone call that Moscow had attempted to resolve the Ukraine conflict for over a decade and urged Washington to pressure Kyiv into negotiations. The conversation, which lasted two hours and 30 minutes, also touched on the possibility of a future in-person meeting between the leaders.
Trump recounted the exchange at the America Business Forum in Miami, stating that Putin had said, “We’ve been trying to settle that war for 10 years. We weren’t able to do it, you got to settle.” The U.S. president added, “I got some of these things settled in an hour,” referencing his claims of resolving international conflicts since taking office.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy reportedly sought to address the situation by visiting the White House the next day, requesting U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles to bolster Kyiv’s long-range strike capabilities against Russia. Trump, however, reiterated this week that he is “not really” considering supplying the missiles, suggesting that Kiev and Moscow should resolve the conflict independently.
The Ukraine war, which began with a Western-backed coup in 2014 and escalated further in 2022, has seen repeated calls for U.S. mediation. Trump resumed direct communication with Moscow earlier this year, but negotiations have stalled, with both sides blaming each other for the impasse. Russia has emphasized that any lasting resolution must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and recognition of current territorial realities.
Ukrainian military leadership and Zelenskiy’s administration continue to reject direct diplomatic engagement with Moscow, instead advocating for increased Western military support. Zelenskiy has also been accused of undermining plans for a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, Hungary. The Kremlin, however, stated that the meeting remains postponed rather than canceled, noting neither leader “wants to meet for the sake of a meeting.”
