Putin eager for Ukraine peace deal, personal hate is holdup: Trump

US President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal to end the Ukraine war but intense personal animosity between Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the central obstacle, citing a recent phone call with the Russian leader.

Trump: Putin-Zelenskyy 'Hate' Hinders Peace Deal

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (local time) that Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to reach a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine, but argued that deep personal animosity between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains the central obstacle to diplomacy. Speaking to reporters before departing for a Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, Trump detailed a recent phone call with the Russian leader, expressing optimism about the potential for a diplomatic resolution.

In describing his exchange with Putin, Trump framed the Russian president as willing to negotiate while placing the burden of momentum on both leaders. “We had a great conversation,” Trump said. “He is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelenskyy is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice.”

When asked what was preventing a breakthrough, Trump pointed directly to the intense hostility between Moscow and Kyiv. “The holdup is two people that hate each other,” Trump stated. “I think more than anything else, it's two people that hate each other.”

Despite the ongoing friction, Trump voiced confidence that his background in negotiation gives him insight into the state of the conflict. Asked what gave him confidence following the call, Trump replied, “I think that because I speak to people, that's all I do is speak to people my whole life. I know about deals, and these are two people that are tired of fighting.”

The president also left open the possibility of hosting direct, three-way negotiations involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy. When asked if a trilateral meeting could take place, Trump indicated that high-level direct talks remain on the table. “It could happen,” Trump said. “We had a good conversation. It could happen. Too many people are dying in that war. 25,000 last month.”

Kremlin on Diplomatic Efforts

Earlier, state news agency TASS reported that Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Financial Times that Putin and Trump discussed potential restructuring within the US negotiating team during the telephonic conversation. The conversation touched on potential adjustments to Washington's diplomatic lineup as efforts surrounding shuttle diplomacy continue, TASS reported.

Additionally, Peskov dismissed reports alleging that a scheduled meeting between President Putin and CIA Director John Ratcliffe had been cancelled, clarifying that no such meeting had ever been arranged.

Citing Financial Times, TASS reported that the White House has been evaluating a potential overhaul of its diplomatic mediation structure since February. The proposed restructuring under consideration involves scaling back the roles of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, with a view toward expanding the role of CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Addressing wider diplomatic efforts, Peskov informed journalists that Moscow has not received updates regarding Kyiv’s stance following its recent discussions with American officials.

US Envoys Push for Trilateral Talks

This comes as two of Trump's key aides, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Kyiv, in a first since the conflict broke out. The US representatives pushed for Kyiv and Moscow to come to the table after they held “substantive” discussions with Ukrainian officials, CNN reported.

While no major breakthroughs were announced after Sunday’s talks, Witkoff said he was “confident that there’ll be a good resolution here.” The talks followed rigorous meetings Witkoff and Kushner held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on September 5, part of a renewed push by the US to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

“One thing Steve (Witkoff) and I really thought would be productive is to go back to the trilateral format, which we were able to do about six months ago,” Kushner said in a news conference following the talks in Kyiv, as per CNN.

Kushner further said that he prefers trilateral talks as they allow all parties to communicate directly, without the US having to speak for Ukraine or Russia. “Everyone was speaking, you know, in Russian to each other and really discussing these issues in a very actually friendly manner, all in Russian,” he said of previous rounds of trilateral negotiations.

While adding that Washington has spoken to both parties about this idea, he added, “Hopefully we’ll have progress on that very soon.”

Speaking about his recent visit to Russia, Witkoff said his team had a “good, concrete conversation” with Putin. “If you don’t have relationships with both sides, and you have poor communication, then you probably have very, very little chance of getting to a peaceful resolution,” Witkoff said.

CNN reported that the US-Ukraine talks concluded on Sunday evening local time after two rounds of discussion, followed by a third round of negotiations with European representatives.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)