Putin Wants Deal to End Ukraine War, Trump says

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had a great conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week and that the Russian leader wanted to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

“He is wanting to make a deal, and if [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice”, Trump told the media before boarding Air Force One.

Trump spoke by phone with Putin on Tuesday, shortly after US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner returned from a diplomatic trip to Moscow and Kyiv. The pair, who are in charge of most major US peace negotiations, discussed potential proposals to bring the war to an end.

Last month, CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with intelligence officials in Moscow, in part to encourage Russian officials to end their invasion.

Trump’s optimism is not shared by intelligence officials in the US, Ukraine and Europe, who remain skeptical of Putin’s willingness to end the war.

“The holdup is two people who hate each other”, Trump told reporters, referring to Putin and Zelensky.

“I think more than anything else, it's two people that hate each other.”

(Reuters, luc)