Trump Calls Putin Talks ‘Productive,’ Urges Sparing Ukrainian Troops In Kursk

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday stated that there is a “very good chance” the war between Russia and Ukraine could come to an end following “productive” discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

He added that he had requested that Putin spare the lives of “completely surrounded” Ukrainian troops, apparently referring to Ukrainian forces being pushed back out of the Kursk region, their only foothold on Russian territory.

“We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt later told reporters that Trump had not spoken with Putin on Thursday, but that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had.

Witkoff had a long meeting with Putin in Moscow on Thursday night, according to a source briefed on the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had used the meeting to convey “signals” to Trump through Witkoff. He said Russia and the U.S. would work out the timing of a phone call between their presidents once Witkoff had briefed Trump.

Ceasefire

The U.S. president has said he wants Moscow and Kyiv to agree a swift ceasefire to pause fighting in a conflict which he has warned has the potential to spiral into World War Three and has already cost many lives on both sides.

On Friday, Trump again pressed Russia to sign and complete “a Cease Fire and Final Agreement”, saying on his private social media platform that he would extract the U.S. from what he called a “real ‘mess’ with Russia”.

Putin said on Thursday that he supported Trump’s proposal in principle, but that fighting could not be paused until several crucial conditions were worked out, raising the prospect of longer negotiations.

Despite Putin’s apparent conditions, Trump called Putin’s statement “very promising”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Putin – who has expressed concern that Ukraine would exploit any truce to regroup – had used the late-night meeting with Witkoff to convey information and “signals” to Trump.

“There are certainly reasons to be cautiously optimistic,” Peskov said. “(Putin) said that he supports President Trump’s position in terms of a settlement, but he voiced some questions that need to be answered together”.

Peskov said the timing of a phone call between the presidents would be worked out once Witkoff had briefed Trump.

Putin has said he wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO, Russia to control the entirety of the four Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own, and the size of the Ukrainian army to be limited.

He has also made clear he wants Western sanctions eased and a presidential election to be held in Ukraine, which Kyiv says is premature while martial law remains in force.

(With inputs from Reuters)