WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday that stopping the fighting in Ukraine is essential and that he is prepared to coordinate with European partners and Kyiv to pursue a ceasefire, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said. Trump indicated he could raise the issue at this week’s G7 summit in France.
Ushakov said Trump spoke about ongoing U.S.-brokered negotiations and that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have led previous diplomatic efforts to end the war, would soon visit Russia again. He added that broader U.S. diplomatic attention has been divided by the crisis over Iran.
The leaders also discussed recent efforts to reach a U.S.-Iran memorandum. According to Ushakov, Trump described an agreement as close and said he expects the outcomes of what he called “difficult but ultimately successful negotiations” to be announced publicly. Ushakov noted that Putin offered informal congratulations to Trump on his 80th birthday.