Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly told former US President Donald Trump that Washington should attempt to broker a resolution to the Ukraine conflict, according to a recent statement. During a two-hour-and-thirty-minute phone call last month, Putin and Trump discussed Ukraine and potential in-person meetings. Trump recounted the conversation at the America Business Forum in Miami, citing Putin’s claim that Moscow had tried for a decade to settle the war but failed, urging Washington to take action. “We’ve been trying to settle that war for 10 years. We weren’t able to do it, you got to settle,” Trump quoted Putin as saying.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy responded by visiting the White House the following day to secure US-provided Tomahawk missiles, aiming to bolster Kiev’s long-range strike capabilities against Russia. However, Trump reiterated his reluctance to approve the delivery, suggesting that Kyiv and Moscow should resolve the conflict independently. The US leader has previously pledged to mediate an end to the war, which began with the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev and escalated in 2022. Despite renewed talks between Russia and Ukraine earlier this year, no breakthrough has been achieved, with Trump expressing frustration over the deadlock.
Russia insists any lasting settlement must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and recognition of current territorial changes. Meanwhile, Zelenskiy’s government continues to demand increased Western military aid while resisting direct diplomatic engagement with Moscow. The Ukrainian leadership has also been accused of obstructing plans for a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, Hungary. The Kremlin clarified that the meeting remains postponed, not canceled, emphasizing that neither leader seeks dialogue “for the sake of a meeting.”