Trump Says Putin Wants to End Ukraine War

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested in ending the war in Ukraine, despite the lack of a breakthrough during high-level talks in Moscow between Kremlin officials and Trump’s envoys.

The comments came as US officials prepared for a follow-up meeting with Ukraine’s chief negotiator after initial discussions failed to produce an agreement on halting what has become Europe’s most devastating conflict since World War II.

Trump’s representatives — envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner — held extended talks with Putin inside the Kremlin that stretched into the early hours, but the Russian side later stated that parts of the American peace proposal were “unacceptable.”

The US plan reportedly includes Kyiv ceding parts of the eastern Donbas region that it still controls nearly four years after Moscow launched its invasion.

“I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin,” Trump told an AFP reporter, describing the discussions as “very good,” but adding that it remains “too soon to tell” whether any progress will follow.

Pressed on whether his envoys sensed genuine willingness from Putin to end the war, Trump replied: “He would like to end the war. That was their impression.”

Trump also said that Ukraine “pretty well” supported the US proposal, though he noted Kyiv should have backed it earlier during his contentious Oval Office meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in February.

According to US officials, Witkoff and Kushner are scheduled to meet Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on Thursday to continue the discussions.

The Kremlin, however, stated that more negotiations will be required before any compromise can be reached.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who took part in the talks, told reporters that Russia’s recent military advances in eastern Ukraine played a significant role in shaping the negotiations.

He said it would be inaccurate to claim Putin rejected the entire US plan, stressing that “more work is needed.”

Moscow has recently accelerated its operations across the front line, with Russian forces pushing forward against Ukrainian units that are both outgunned and outnumbered. Last month, Russia claimed major gains in the east, and Putin has reiterated that Moscow is prepared to fight on unless Kyiv agrees to surrender territory.

Despite this stance, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized Russia’s continued openness to diplomacy:
“We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement.”

In his nightly address, Zelensky said that although a window of opportunity for peace has emerged, progress must be supported by strong international pressure on Russia.

“The world now clearly feels that there is an opportunity to end the war, and the current activity in negotiations must be supported by pressure on Russia,” Zelensky said.

The renewed diplomatic activity comes as NATO moves ahead with plans to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of US weapons for Kyiv, aiming to strengthen Ukraine’s military position even as peace efforts continue.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that while ongoing peace talks were “positive,” the alliance must ensure that “Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going.”

European governments have expressed growing unease over the possibility that Washington and Moscow could reach agreements affecting Ukraine without sufficient consultation with European allies.

Several European states have spent recent weeks pushing for revisions to the US proposal to ensure it does not force Kyiv into capitulation as Russian troops continue their advance and urban fighting persists, including in the embattled city of Pokrovsk.

As the war nears its fourth year, both diplomatic maneuvering and military operations appear to be intensifying — leaving the fate of the negotiations, and the conflict itself, still uncertain.